west coast

New Beer Blog New Belgium Frambozen Ale (2014)

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In this special beer blog, we are going to get into their holiday beer from New Belgium Brewery.  It is their Frambozen Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this mountain area craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know New Belgium Brewery.  Let us get into this American Brown ale.

It has a clear ruby-red color when held up to the light. The smell has a heavy sweet raspberry notes. The taste has a sweet malty with raspberry wine notes. The brown ale calms wine notes. The aftertaste has a sweet raspberry finish. It is a nice sipping but kind of drinkable beer for the holiday season.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Flemish for “raspberry,” Frambozen is our big, luscious celebration of the ruby-red fruit. We discovered the perfect marriage between the fruity complexity of northwestern raspberries and the rich chocolate, roasted maltiness of a Brown Ale. Frambozen pours a warming, deep red of seasonal festivity.

Here is a description from their website (www.newbelgium.com):

Frambozen begins with the aroma of fresh red raspberries, followed by the ripe seductiveness of a fruity brown ale with depth and delicate malt notes. It is deep ruby in color, with flavors just as rich. Every year, New Belgium sends a delegate to the Pacific Northwest to oversee the process of turning freshly picked berries into a pure juice to be added in fermentation. The coming of Thanksgiving at New Belgium is ushered in with the first sighting of our cellar operators scuttling about, covered head to tow in a festive crimson berry wash.

Here is their website and twitter:

Website:  www.newbelgium.com

Twitter:  @newbelgium

In the end, I have been wanting to try this so many seasons.  I miss it season after season.  I saw it on the shelf this winter season.  I knew I had to pick it up right away.  I knew the raspberries would go over pretty well with the brown ale.  This is before trying this brew.  I love the nice color.  It has that Flemish Brown color but it is not a sour.  I love it. There is a nice balance from the raspberries and the brown ale.  It kind of has a little wine like notes which is a little unique.  This is by far the best winter seasonal on the market this season.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog 21st Amendment Marooned On Hog Island Stout

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In this blog, we are going to get into another brew from 21st Amendment Brewery.  It is their Marooned On Hog Island Stout.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this west coast craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know 21st Amendment Brewery.  Let us get into this special stout.

It has a jet black color without a head but the head that was there is a tan color. The aroma has a chocolate to coffee notes. The taste has a slime chocolate with a burned malt to coffee notes for the aftertaste. It is a nice sipping beer.

Here is a description from the beer can:

Exhausted by the tedious work and rancid beer, deck swabs O’Sulivan and Freccia abandoned Sir Francis Drake’s Galleon.  Days later, they washed up on a tiny island in Tomales Bay, where they encountered local oyster Farmers John and Terry.  Soon, these beer mutineers and oyster mercenaries were feasting on roast pig, fresh oysters and goblets of the Captain’s finest ale.  They could think of worse fates than being…

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.21st-amendment.com

Twitter:  @21stAmendment

In the end, I have always love stouts.  I am pretty much in love with stouts made with oysters.  My first ever stout with oysters was from Flying Dog.  These stouts are really unique and it takes stout and oyster fans to love this unique beer style.  The oysters make this stout a little slime like notes with some nice chocolate to coffee notes.  I love it. There is a nice balance in this brew.  I cannot wait to see this brew next season or everyday.  There is no information on their website.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Anchor Brewing Our Special Ale (2014)

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In this winter beer blog, we are going to get into one of the first and original christmas beer of the modern era.  It is from Anchor Brewing and it is their Our Special Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this west coast craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Anchor Brewery.  Let us get into this Christmas Ale.

It has a dark brown color with non constant light brown color head. The smell has roasted malt to toffee and nutty notes. The taste has a roasted to burn malt notes with a burn malt aftertaste. It is a kind of drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

This is the fortieth annual “Our Special Ale”  from the brewers at Anchor.  It is sold only from early November to mid-January.  The Ale’s recipe is different every year, as is the tree on the label, but the intent with which we offer it remains the same; joy and celebration of the newness of life.  Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew.

Here is a description from their website (www.anchorbrewing.com):

This is the fortieth annual Christmas Ale from the Anchor brewers. It is sold only from early November to mid–January. The Ale’s recipe is different every year, as is the tree on the label, but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Our tree for 2014 is the Giant Sequoia. It was hand-drawn by James Stitt—who has been creating Christmas Ale labels for us since 1975—to look as a “Big Tree” planted in 1975 might look today.

“The Big Tree is Nature’s forest masterpiece, and…keeps its youth far longer than any of its neighbors. Most silver firs are old in their second or third century, pines in their fourth or fifth, while the Big Tree growing beside them is still in the bloom of its youth, juvenile in every feature at the age of old pines, and cannot be said to attain anything like prime size and beauty before its fifteen hundredth year, or under favorable circumstances become old before its three thousandth.”–John Muir

We chose the Giant Sequoia for our fortieth Christmas Ale in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Act. Signed into law by President Lincoln during the Civil War, it granted the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California “for public use, resort, and recreation.” The first such land grant in American history, it marked the beginning of the California State Parks.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.anchorbrewing.com

Twitter:  @anchorbrewing

Ending, winter and fall seasonal beers are my favorite of all the seasons.  I love the spring and summer for motorcycle riding.  I am finding out that the winter seasonals this year are so much better than last years.  It was the same case for the fall seasonal brews.  I had a hard time liking this beer every year but at end of season, it always ends in my top five. I love burn from the roasted malts. This is a great beer.  It is a nice sipping brew to get you through the winter cold days.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Tiwtter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Alaskan Winter Ale (2014)

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In this winter beer blog, we are going to sample another brew from Alaskan Brewery.  It is their Winter Ale.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know this northwest craft brewery.  Let us get into this winter ale.

It has a clear copper color with a white to off white constant head. The aroma has hints of spruce tips notes. The taste has a sweet malty with a heavy focus spruce tips notes. The aftertaste has a crisp aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.alaskanbeer.com):

Style:

English Olde Ale. Traditionally malty with the warming sensation of alcohol, Olde Ales are brewed in the fall as winter warmers.

Flavor Profile:


Brewed in the style of an English Olde Ale, this ale balances the sweet heady aroma of spruce tips with the clean crisp finish of noble hops. Its malty richness is complemented by the warming sensation of alcohol.

History:
From the seafaring adventurers of the 1700s to the homebrewers of today, adding spruce tips to beer has a rich history in Southeast Alaska. Alaskan Winter Ale was first released by the Brewery in 2000.

Ingredients:
Alaskan Winter is made from glacier-fed water, Sitka spruce tips and a generous blend of the finest quality European and Pacific Northwest hop varieties and specialty malts. Our water originates in the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Ice Field and from the more than 90 inches of rainfall we receive each year.

Recommendation:
Perfect winter warmer by the fireside or an accompaniment to holiday fare. Serve with roast goose, turkey, ham or lamb. A nice complement to holiday breads, pound cake, or apple pie.

The Story Behind The Label:
Throughout Southeast Alaska, bald eagles can be spotted landing atop the towering old growth forests of Sitka spruce trees. As many as 3,000 bald eagles congregate among these evergreen trees on the shores of the Chilkat River for the last large run of salmon before winter. Sitka spruce trees carry a significance of their own to local Alaskans. The tender new growth of the spruce tips lends a delicious, yet subtly sweet floral aroma to teas, jelly and now our Alaskan Winter Ale.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.alaskanbeer.com

Twitter:  @alaskanbeer

In the end, I have been wanting to this beer for a long time.  I was pretty excited to them enter the State of Michigan.  I was pretty stun that they skip the City of Chicago.  Chicago is a pretty big market for craft beer.  Most craft breweries did not want to enter that market because of the laws.  On the other side, most craft breweries did not want to enter the Michigan Market because the huge push for Michigan craft beers.  Beers that are outside of state get pushed away and do not get a fair shake.  I did not know if they will be pushing out their seasonal beers right away.  I was pretty happy to see this beer on the shelf.  I had to pick up a bottle and try it.  I was interested to see how Spruce would work in this beer.  There is a Michigan craft brewery that used spruce tips and failed on their beer.  The beer was terrible.  I knew experienced craft brewery would know how to work it correctly in this beer.  They did a great job and it is pretty good.  There is a nice balance in this beer.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ (2014)

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into another brew from Lagunitas Brewery.  It is their Brown Shugga’.  This is their 2014 edition.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this west coast craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Lagunitas Brewery.  Let us get into this beer.

It has a nice copper to bronze color with a small white bubble head color. The smell has a sweet malty to alcohol notes. The taste has a sweet malty to slight but faded alcohol notes. The aftertaste has a dry hoppy bitter finish. It is kind of drinkable beer.

Here is a description from their website (www.lagunitas.com):

Originally a failed attempt at our 1997 batch of Olde GnarlyWine Ale resulting in an all-new-beer-style we like to call…Irresponsible.

AVAILABLE: NOVEMBER 2014 thru JANUARY 2015 (whoa!)
ABV: 9.99%
Sold as: 6-packs & Kegs
Net contents: Ounces and ounces of Malt, Hops, Yeast and water.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.lagunitas.com

Twitter:  @lagunitasbeer

Closing, this is a pretty unique beer.  It has a nice color and appearance.  The packaging is a nice just like all the rest of their beers.  It is pretty hard to explain this beer.  I know that I love it.  I look forward to every year it is released.  There is some nice malty notes along with some alcohol notes.  It is pretty drinkable for the ABV.  I highly recommend this beer.  This is one of their best beers.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop IPA

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In this special beer blog, we are going to sample another special release from Sierra Nevada.  It is their Wet Hop IPA.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Sierra Nevada.  Let us get into this IPA.

It has a nice hue of copper and light bronze color with a white constant head. The smell has an earthly, rose, piney, and grapefruit notes. The taste has a carbonated grapefruit with a nice dry slight bitter aftertaste. It is a pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

The fourth in our 2014 harvest series, Northern Hemisphere Harvest spans a flavor spectrum from bold, earthy, green hop flavors to hints of citrus, fresh herbs and pine.

Here is a description from their website (www.sierranevada.com):

Available September 2014.
Northern Hemisphere was the first wet hop ale and it inspired the wet hop craze here in America. Wet—undried—hops go straight from the fields into our kettles within 24 hours. Because hops are incredibly perishable, using hops wet preserves all of the precious oils and resins for a unique drinking experience as evidenced by the intense herbal green flavors and citrus-like and floral aromas. Northern Hemisphere is part of our five-bottle Harvest series which features single hop, fresh hop, wet hop, and wild hop beers.

Wet Hop versus Fresh Hop

Over recent years, there has been some confusion about the difference between fresh and wet hops. While it may seem like semantics, to us it’s an important distinction.

Wet Hops are un-dried hops, picked and shipped from the growing fields within 24 hours.

Fresh Hops are the freshest dried hops to come from the fields, typically within seven days of harvest.
Over 90% of the world’s hop harvest happens between August 31 and October 31, and these hops are used throughout the calendar year. Can hops possibly be the same on November 1, one day after harvest, as they are on July 25, nearly one year after growing in the fields? The answer is no. We think of hops like dry kitchen spices—the flavor of thyme or rosemary right after the jar is opened is far more intense than it is six months later. The same can be said for hops. There are ways to control the way hops age and to reformulate and readjust as some of the aromas fade, but there’s nothing like the magic of the first bales of hops as fresh as can be. That is the stuff dreams are made of!

Dry Hops

We work hard to get strong hop flavors into our beers and one of the ways we do that is through dry hopping. Dry hopping refers to the addition of whole-cone hops to the fermentation tanks. The addition of hops to cold beer allows the aromatic oils and resins to infuse the beer with flavor and aroma without adding any additional bitterness.

Experimental Hops

Hop farmers, breeders, brewers, and brokers are always looking for new and interesting hop varietals with compelling flavor characteristics and intriguing properties. Sierra Nevada has a unique relationship with hop growers, and often has access to limited and experimental varieties. Some of the varietals, while interesting, don’t add enough value and never make it into commercial production, while others—like the recent hop Citra—take the brewing world by storm. Every day new varietals are being tested and some have become signature flavors for Sierra Nevada.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.sierranevada.com

Twitter:  @sierranevada

Closing, I am always looking forward to the next single hop beers from Sierra Nevada.  I enjoyed these brews very much.  I have always just brought one bottle but starting this year editions.  I will be picking up more than one.  I just picked up one because they are one of the hardest beers to find in the Midwest.  This beer was no different then the rest of their limited releases.  Of course, the beer was different.  I mean is it was awesome brew.  They have all been awesome beers.  They know how to build a nice malty backbone.  They picked some nice hops throughout this hop series.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it! \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Sierra Nevada Brewery Porter

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In this beer blog, we are going to sample one of my favorite porters in the craft beer world.  It is Sierra Nevada Porter.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this California craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know one of the legends in the craft beer world.  Let us get into this porter.

This porter has a black color with a semi on light brown color head. The smell has a burned to slight notes of chocolate. The taste has a creamy roasted chocolate with a roasted malty to dry chocolate aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable for the beer style.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Sierra Nevada Classic Porter is a testament to roasted malts which give it a rich bittersweet and roasted coffee like flavor.  This all-American adaptation of the traditional workingman’s ale is well-balanced and a perfect complement to a variety of foods.

Before Sierra Nevada was a reality, nights were spent perfecting homebrew recipes and dreaming of starting a brewery.  One of our favorite beers was a porter.  Made before roasted  malts were readily available, we spent time in the kitchen roasting barley for our own malt.  The result is big malt flavor – rich, bittersweet, and roasted.

Here is a description from their website (www.sierranevada.com):

Porters were invented as a fortifying drink for the rough-and-tumble working class of London’s bustling markets. It was brewed for good folks with calluses on their hands, doing work that needed to be done. We salute those working-class heroes with our classic Porter, brewed in the hop-forward American style and featuring a depth of malt flavor and complexity with roasted notes of black coffee and cocoa.

Origin of Porter

The origins of porter are shrouded in mystery, but most agree that by the middle 1600s there were many beers of various styles referred to as porters not because of a singular flavor characteristic, but because of their intended audience—the hardworking folks shuttling gear in England’s bustling markets. In fact, porter as we know it today—roasty, dry and dark as midnight—would have been impossible to achieve because efficient and reliable malt roasters weren’t invented for another hundred years. One thing is certain though, porters developed alongside the Industrial Revolution and as brewing technology improved, so did the technique and quality of the beer. Porter was the first mass-produced style of beer and the beer that helped build the mighty British brewing industry. It will forever be associated with London’s working class.

Stout versus Porter

While the exact origins of porter are hazy, the development of stout is more straightforward. By the 1700s bolder, high-alcohol versions of any style of beer were referred to as “stout” or strong. By then, porter was far and away the most popular beer style in the British Isles, and clever breweries began advertising the stronger versions of their beers as “stout porter.” By the late 1800s, regular porters had fallen out of favor and stout porter, or simply stout, took their place. There are many different varieties of stout ranging from the light bodied, low-alcohol Dry Irish Stout to the vicious, rich and strong Imperial Stout.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.sierranevada.com

Twitter:  @sierranevada

In the end, Sierra Nevada is so beyond under rated to us here in midwest and east coast.  I am not sure on how they are viewed on the west coast.  I believe pretty highly. I just feel most craft beer drinkers just see Sierra Nevada as the brewery that makes one really good brew, which is their Pale Ale.  I love their Pale Ale but they offer so much more to their beer drinkers.  This porter is one of their finest brews that they make.  I can enjoy this beer in any season.  It is pretty drinkable and full of flavor.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Coronado Brewing Blue Bridge Coffee Stout

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In this beer blog, we are going to sample the second beer from Coronado Brewing.  It is their Blue Bridge Coffee Stout.  If you read my earlier beer blog on their everyday IPA, you know the history of this California craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read it to get to know Coronado Brewing.  Let us get into this coffee stout.

It has a jet black color with a tan to light brown color head. The aroma has a heavy coffee with a burn chocolate notes. The taste has a smooth creamy chocolate with a dry coffee aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Just as the iconic Coronado Bay Bridge connects our island home to the mainland, this java-tinged dry stout, brewed using dark roasted coffee beans from a local San Diego artisanal roaster, provides a bridge uniting craft beer drinkers with CBC’s rich, flavorful SoCal brewing traditions.

Here is a description from their website (www.coronadobrewingcompany.com):

Just as the iconic Coronado Bay Bridge connects our island home to the mainland, this java-tinged dry stout, brewed using dark roasted coffee beans from a local San Diego artisanal roaster, provides a bridge uniting craft beer drinkers with CBC’s rich, flavorful SoCal brewing traditions.

Details

Style: Coffee Stout Malt Profile: 2-Row, Crisp 45, Simpson R.B. Ingredients: Café to dark roast coffee-10lbs per 10bbl Hop Profile: Northern Brewer Yeast Profile: Cal Ale IBUs: 27 Alcohol by Vol: 5.40% Sizes: Bottles: 22 oz. | Draft: 1/6bbl & 1/2bbl

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.coronadobrewingcompany.com

Twitter:  @CoronadoBrewing

In the end, I was pretty excited when this craft brewery hit the shelves here in Michigan.  I have been wanting to try their beers.  I love my coffee stouts.  It was a no brainer to pick up bottle of their coffee stout.  I was not impressed with this beer.  It just seems a little water down.  It is not good and it could be better. It is pretty than most on the market.  There is better coffee stouts on the market.  It might be ok in the warm weather in California.  Here in the Midwest, we need a heavy stouts and porters.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Stone Brewing Smoked Porter Chocolate And Orange Peel

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In this seasonal beer blog, we are going to get into another beer from Stone Brewing.  It is Smoked Porter Chocolate and Orange Peel.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this west coast craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Stone Brewing.  Let us get into this porter.

It has a jet black color with a nice tan head that disappears. It is semi on there. The smell has a smoke chocolate notes. The taste has a slight smoke chocolate with an orange aftertaste. It is pretty drinkable.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

We decided early on that we wouldn’t do seasonal beers for the sake of doing seasonal beers.  Summer ales and winter lagers certainly have a ring to them.  Big-beer focus groups prove consumers get a kick out of them and macrobrew marketing analyses suggest they sell well.  But for us, beer comes first, much as Stone Smoked Porter came first.  Actually, it came second – oddly enough, in the form of a seasonal.  Our co-founder and original brewmaster, Steve Wagner, thought it would be an innovative creation suited for winter…and it was.  Legend has it Greg’s Mom agreed.  So, rather than relegating fans to nine peat-smoked-porterless months and building revenue-generating fervor for the cold season, we made it a year-round release.  Nowadays, we brew a trio of tasty takes on this smoky, sultry vanguard.  But the closest they come to being “seasonals”  is that they are enhanced with seasonally driven ingredients such as vanilla bean and chipotle peppers.  This version, released in the literally gray area separating sunshine and snowfall, incorporates dark chocolate and dried orange peel, making for a semisweet, citrus-nuanced porter that comes across like a break-apart chocolate orange enjoyed by a campfire.  It’s not a seasonal – it’s just a phenomenal beer, regardless of the time of year.  Throw out the calender and enjoy.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.stonebrewing.com

Twitter:  @stonebrewingco

Ending, I never thought I would see the day that Stone Brewing is doing a seasonal.  It is kind of crazy to think about it.  This craft brewery thinks and runs in their drum beat.  They do not what everyone else is doing in the world of craft beers.  They felt the time is now to make a seasonal.  I have to say they did a great job on this brew.  I did not know how the orange peel would go well with the smoked porter.  I do enjoy it. It has a weird twist and this is how this craft brewery is successful.  There is a nice balance from the chocolate, porter, and orange peel.  The smoke porter part is not overpowering everything in this beer.  I highly recommend this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Beer Blog Sierra Nevada Boomerang IPA

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into Boomerang IPA from Sierra Nevada.  This beer came out of the their new Snow Pack Sampler pack.  This is the only way to enjoy this brew.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts on their beers, you know the history of this West Coast craft brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know this American craft brewery.  Let us get into this IPA.

This India Pale Ale has a clear golden color with a nice white constant head. The smell has a citrus notes. The taste has a citrus notes with a dry bitter aftertaste. It is a pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Boomerrang is an American IPA that slings fruit-forward and floral flavors of Australian hops for an assertive intercontinental escape from winter’s grasp.

Over the years we’ve developed a love for hops from the Southern Hemisphere.  These ‘down under” varietals taste like no other, and we’ve thrown heaps of them into Boomrang IPA to showcase their unique tropical, floral and fruity aromas.

Here is a description from their website (www.sierranevada.com):

Certain regions produce hops whose flavors are simply unlike any others. This is the case for many of the hops coming out of the Southern Hemisphere—specifically, those from Australia where the hops are famous for their floral character and enticing fruit-forward aromas. These one-of-a-kind hops were the inspiration for Boomerang, a “Yankee-Aussie” IPA featuring the light malt body of an American IPA blended with the robust flavors of Southern Hemisphere hops.

Hop farmers, breeders, brewers and brokers are always looking for new and interesting hop varietals with compelling flavor characteristics and intriguing properties. Sierra Nevada has a unique relationship with hop growers and often has access to limited and experimental varieties. Some of the varietals, while interesting, don’t add enough value and never make it into commercial production, while others—like the recent hop Citra—take the brewing world by storm. Every day new varietals are being tested and some have become signature flavors for Sierra Nevada.

We work hard to get strong hop flavors into our beers and one of the ways we do that is through dry hopping. Dry hopping refers to the addition of whole-cone hops to the fermentation tanks. The addition of hops to cold beer allows the aromatic oils and resins to infuse the beer with flavor and aroma without adding any additional bitterness.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.sierranevada.com):

Twitter:  @sierranevada

Closing, I loved this beer.  I just wish it was one of their everyday beers.  I understand why it is not one of their everyday six-pack.  They are using a special hops just like their single hop and harvest ales.  It makes a ton of senses why it is in their sampler pack.  There is some nice tropical to floral notes.  I really enjoyed aroma and taste profile from this beer because of the hops they picked in it.  There is a nice well build malty backbone.  Sierra Nevada has proved with this beer alone that they are pushing the limits of craft brewery.  If you can find this sampler pack, I highly recommend you trying this beer.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13