(Escondido, CA) - It’s now 1:50am on the East Coast but I thought this would make for a nice Independence Day surprise. We first broke the story in April that Mikkeller would be collaborating with Alesmith and Stone Brewing on a beer in San Diego. We later got some details that 120 barrels were brewed, and that the beer would be a Belgian-style Tripel released in 12 oz. bottles (not the expensive 375 mL kind, phew). Mikkel said a couple weeks ago that he was hoping for a mid-September release on this but as always, nothing is set in Stone. (Keep in mind that the label isn’t definite either until it finds its way onto the bottle).

It will be interesting to see under which brewery Belgian Style Triple Ale gets cataloged on the beer ratings websites. Our money would be on Stone considering it was brewed there and the packaging matches Stone’s other offerings. We’ll leave it at that and let the labels speak for themselves. Enjoy your Independence Day.

Post from: beernews.org

Belgian Style Triple Ale: First look at Stone-Mikkeller-Alesmith collaboration

(Portsmouth, NH) - Todd Alstrom of Beer Advocate reported yesterday that Redhook Brewery, based in Portsmouth, NH, and Woodinville, WA, will bring out of retirement its top-ranked Redhook Double Black Stout (with an all-new look vs. what is shown above). The redux of this beer in bombers is the first in a series of new limited releases to come from the brewery beginning early November 2008.

Double Black first debuted in 1995 and generated a cult following. Though it hasn’t been brewed in eight years, its following spawned dozens of ratings by memory or old notes at RateBeer. The beer’s signature was a complex coffee kick coming from the inclusion of Starbucks Coffee. According to the article, the beer is also expected to sell at an affordable price point of $5.

The announcement marks a new trend for some of the larger breweries. Charlie Papazian noted at the Craft Brewers Conference this past spring that extreme beers amounted in more sales than any other craft segment. The larger breweries, traditionally focused on styles more palatable to the general public, are taking note. Redhook joins Harpoon Brewery as the second major brewer in the past month to announce a new limited edition craft-focused brand. Boulevard Brewing made a similar change in focus late last year when it introduced its Smokestack Series. Not only are these breweries going extreme, they appear to be dialing directly into what beer people want. Note that all three breweries just mentioned are bringing back their brands with the best beer ratings.

This news comes a day after Redhook completed a merger with Widmer Brothers to become a new company called the Craft Brewers Alliance. Brew Blog noted back in November that the new company could become the 3rd largest craft producer if it hits 600,000 barrels. However, neither brewery fits the craft definition due to their affiliation with Anheuser-Busch (not independent). Redhook’s stock (HOOK) has tumbled over the last year down from around $8/share to close to $4 though it has rebounded slightly in the last couple days.

Post from: beernews.org

Beer Advocate report: Redhook Double Black Stout to return this fall

Quick update on a prior item…Paul Cain of Southern Tier informed that the much-anticipated Creme Brulee will ship next week and should start showing up on store shelves around 7/14!

Latest on Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus is that 120 cases were sold this past weekend with 30 remaining, all of which are going to Patron Saints and Sinners Club members in an online sale starting at 8am PST Thursday. As for the rest of us, we will have to wait to see what bars will be getting Isabelle. Tomme has confirmed so far that Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia and Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle (likely in August) will be getting some.

Alpine Beer Co. just sent out a newsletter. Alpine Chez Monieux (”Shame on You”), the brewery’s Belgian-style Kriek that was first released this past spring, will go on sale for $19.90 at South Bay Drugs and Pizza Port Carlsbad. Some will also be available at the Stone Sour Fest (<- beer list and tickets).

Lastly, per the Alpine newsletter: "To make the holiday closure easier to accept, we will be releasing a fresh, delicious batch of Alpine Duet, our single West Coast IPA on Thursday, July 3rd. It’s the one made with Simcoe and Amarillo hops “in harmony.” We’ll have it on for growler fills and should be able to get some out to an account or two before the weekend. And, to show some love, we’ve brewed another excellent batch of Alpine Exponential Hoppiness. It should be ready in under 6 weeks from now.”

Post from: beernews.org

Beer notes: Isabelle Proximus, Southern Tier Creme Brulee, Alpine Chez Monieux

(Easton, PA) - Matt Guyer of The Beeryard informed that, as of last night, there were twelve cases of Weyerbacher Thirteen in stock at the Pennsylvania store. The 13.6% ABV Belgian-inspired imperial stout marks the 13th anniversary of the brewery, and is starting to filter its way through the U.S. this week.

According to johnmichaelson on Beer Advocate, if you want to get your hands on Weyerbacher Riserva, a raspberry American wild ale: “down here [Baltimore, MD] Max’s got some, and it appears so did State Line. Probably the Wine Source got a case or two as well, and maybe one or two other places in Maryland.”

Post from: beernews.org

Weyerbacher Thirteen is here

[ed: Please click photo above to try a new feature we are testing! Let us know if errors occur.]

(Dexter, MI) - Looks like another one that slipped through our fingers as we transitioned from our old Wordpress.com site to Beernews.org during those two weeks in April.  Kudos to Schroppfy at RateBeer for pointing this beer out to the community earlier this afternoon.  He’s also throwing a party next Monday featuring this beer!

Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam Farmhouse Wheat Beer will become the fourth beer in the Bam Farmhouse Series later this year.  The beer is billed as a “traditional farmhouse style hefeweizen.”  According to the OP (aka original poster in the thread), Ron Jefferies, Brewer/Owner of Jolly Pumpkin, said, “This year we were thinking draft only, with limited bottles. We are doing a bottling for the MJ beer club folks, and will have some here. I imagine a few cases will make it to wholesale.”

Bam Noire, Bam Biere, and E.S. Bam were the first three releases in the Bam Farmhouse Series.

Post from: beernews.org

Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam Farmhouse Wheat Beer becomes #4 in Bam Farmhouse Series

(Kansas City, MO) - Boulevard Brewing, ranked #8 in the top 50 craft breweries in 2007 sales, will release two of the most rare, top-rated beers in its arsenal in bottles for the first time this fall. Boulevard Saison-Brett will become the fifth beer in the Smokestack Series and the first addition to the set in close to a year. It will be joined by Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel as the 6th in the series.

Boulevard Saison-Brett and Boulevard “BBQ” are not to be confused with Boulevard Saison and Boulevard Sixth Glass Quadrupel. The latter two beers were released as part of the Smokestack Series’ launch last November. They were joined by Boulevard Double-Wide IPA and Long Strange Tripel (more info here, flash-based site). The six beers (four original and two new) sit atop Boulevard’s rankings, and have helped push it closer to the top 50 breweries as ranked on RateBeer.

Some will recognize Saison-Brett as a beer that first surprised at the Belgium Comes to Cooperstown fest in 2006. It then appeared at both BCTC and the Great American Beer Festival in 2007. At the festivals, the Brett profile in the beer earned the name, “George Brett,” as a result of Boulevard’s location in Kansas City, which happens to be where the Hall of Fame infielder played his entire career.

Saison-Brett will be released to the tune of less than 12,000 bottles and BBQ even more limited at approximately 7000. Each bottle will be individually numbered. The beers will be released into the same distribution channel as the other Smokestack beers. According to John Bryan, Director of the Artisanal Division, that channel includes the following states: MO, KS, NE, IA, ND, SD, MN, WY, IL, AR, OK, TN, and TX. Perhaps most remarkable about this group of limited releases is that they are released in a number of states that have traditionally not been known for carrying a great selection of higher quality craft beers.

[ed: This is the second sour beer release we've revealed in as many weeks that happened to be a brewery's top-rated beer. The 'sour' trend will continue over the next week when we discuss Upland's new lambic-style beers and a new sour to appear in Minnesota.]

Post from: beernews.org

Boulevard Saison-Brett and Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel join Smokestack Series this fall

(Santa Rosa, CA) - Russian River Brewing is holding another surprise sale on its website starting today only for California residents. According to the blog, Russian River Redemption and Damnation are available along with its barrel-aged releases, Beatification, Supplication, and Temptation. If you missed the boat the first time around, don’t wait to jump on this as most of these beers will sell out fast. Just click on ‘Gift Shop’ and then ‘Bottled Beer’ on the website.

Post from: beernews.org

Russian River Beatification, Redemption highlight brewery’s online sale