(Bellegem-Kortrijk, BELGIUM) – Brewery Ommegang has been working with Brouwerij Bockor in Belgium on a Flemish sour red ale to be made available on tap in the States later this year. The beer will be authentically Belgian, having gone through spontaneous fermentation and oak aging for 18 months right at Bockor’s facility. This is not a blend of different vintages, notes Larry Bennett, Ommegang Marketing Director; it is “straight from the tuns.”

Bennett describes the flavor profile of the beer, which will be called Ommegang Rouge, as, “tart with a bit of green apple aroma and taste, with notes of dark berries and cherries [...]” The brewery was eager to take on a partnership with Bockor, who runs an operation long known for producing Flemish sours, to fill the sour ale gap in Ommegang’s current lineup. Brewmaster, Phil Leinhart, has made multiple trips to Belgium to help Bockor in the process of making this beer.

Bennett notes that Ommegang Rouge, coming in at 5.5% ABV, will be available on tap either late this summer or in early fall. If it is eventually bottled, it wouldn’t be until the end of this year or in 2009.

[7/28 Update: These timetables may no longer be accurate. Matt Dinges of the Shelton Brothers informed me that some of the Pannepot beers may not arrive before fall. We expect Black Albert to be released as planned mid-late August in time for Ebenezers Belgian Beer Fest. No news on Pannepot Cafe.]

[6/20 Update: Please read the follow-up to this article with new timetables. Note that there is no new information on the Pannepot Cafe.]

(Woesten-Vleteren, Belgium) – De Struise Brouwers will release their masterpiece, Black Albert, in 33cl bottles for U.S. distribution as soon as this summer according to Head Brewer, Urbain Coutteau. Coutteau says that plans are to export 540 cases (24 per case) of 33cl bottles around June 15.

The release of this beer will be much-anticipated considering the attention it has received through beer ratings. In December, Ratebeer ranked it #4 in the world for its Ratebeer Best 2008 competition, which also named De Struise Brouwers the #1 brewers. Beer Advocate also named Struise Black Albert #1 in the world in its magazine back in December. It may be among the best-brewed Russian Imperial Stouts ever though Coutteau contends that Black Albert is a “Royal Belgian Stout.”

One of the first hints of this beer’s release came back in early February when it got label approval in the U.S. with the Shelton Brothers stamp on it. However, there was no mention of the beer being released in the multi-hour Easter podcast interview with Chris Lively, owner of Ebenezer’s Pub, Coutteau, and Carlo Grootaert, Struise Taste Analyst, over at The Brewing Network. Lively confirmed that the beer would be bottled soon at Beer Advocate one month ago.

Staying on the subject of beer forum rumors, it seems that the release of Black Albert has been tied closely to a new Belgian pub in the States. This has been known for some time as Coutteau revealed back in late January that the new Pannepot Cafe could open in Maine late this spring. Unfortunately, the project, a partnership between Struise and Lively, has been delayed. However, in a surprising turn of events, a mysterious new Beer Advocate user, “Mainemove,” posted on the forum this month that the cafe will be opening up in South Portland, Maine, (old Eggspectations spot) as early as June 1st (it’s credible). An 8.5 barrel brewery is also slated to open there by the end of the year. Little is known about the arrangement though the Easter podcast also revealed that world-class beer chef, Sean Paxton, of Homebrewchef.com, has been consulting on the menu.

As for Black Albert, Struise originally brewed the beer for Lively as part of the Belgian Beer Festival held at his top-rated pub in Lovell, Maine back in August. Several lucky patrons and some folks out in California have been able to try the beer since then. The beer has also been semi-exclusively available on tap at Brasserie Erasmus in Brugges, Belgium. According to the brewery’s website, it appears as if Black Albert may be available as early as May 9 for those in Belgium [ed: Can someone translate it?].

Lastly, there was also some word of some Black Albert resting in oak Bordeaux casks when the beer was first reviewed. Coutteau confirmed that this would be available “next autumn” [ed: We'll follow up to to see if that means 2008 or 2009].

Finally, there have been recent plans to import Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva to the states this summer as well though that will have to remain speculation at the moment.

Stay tuned.

(Newport, OR) – Rogue Ales has a slew of new beers appearing in new bottles over the course of the next several months. With a little help from Vice President, Jim Cline, we were able to get some of the details. Here they are:

Rogue Brewer’s Ale 2008 is a tribute to Brewer, John Maier’s dog that passed away two years ago, and is a redux of a beer made that year in Brewer’s honor. It was previously bottled under the Johns Locker Stock Series but will carry a new label this year. Brewer’s Ale packs 107 IBU’s and is very similar to the one brewed in 06. The beer will be released as part of the Second Annual Brewer’s Memorial Alefest, a charity event taking place in Newport on May 16-17.

Rogue is also expected to release two more beers under its XS line this summer. Cline had previously mentioned June as a possible release date for Rogue Imperial Porter and Rogue Imperial Special Youngers Bitter though Realbeer reported yesterday that the beers would be due out in July. In either case, it looks like you can expect to see these on shelves around that timeframe. From Realbeer:

Imperial Younger’s Special Bitter was first brewed in 2006 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Horse Brass Pub in Portland, Oregon. Imperial Porter was first brewed for the Oregon Brewers Festival in 2007 and is a strong version of the Mocha Porter.

Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale will be released later in the summer, and most likely, it will be August. It is a big version of the most-reviewed maibock in existence, Rogue Dead Guy Ale. The beer will don a red label and will be released under the XS line. Cline expects that the beer will see limited distribution across the country.

Finally, the brewery will be releasing Rogue Yellow Snow IPA in October. The beer was produced with the skiing culture in mind and will be available somewhat exclusively in those areas. If you look closely at the label, you’ll notice that this beer will be released in 5L bottles.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – This is a first. The Des Moines Register has been tracking developments around a fast-food restaurant in Clive, Iowa, that recently got a liqour license allowing it to serve beer at its drive-through window. The Clive city council voted unanimously back on April 17 to award the liquor license to Iowa Castle. The paper published an update today as to how people in the community are worried about it (and understandably so).

[Ed: I'm guessing that this could blow up into national coverage before long. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (or MADD) will almost certainly get involved. For this reason, I don't see any fast food "chain" with even a hint of a reputation touching this...even though they could probably make some decent $$$ off of it.]