American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
Hey, we may not be professionals, but we know you don’t have the time or energy to hunt down the newest big game beers on the market. So we have our experts trolling the interwebs, holding an ear to the rail, and keeping a wet finger in the wind to catch drift of the best beers blowing into stores as we speak. From Almanac’s Dark Pumpkin Sour to DC Beer Week’s Solidarity Session IPA, we’ve found all sorts of beers you’ll want to chase down.
So welcome to another edition of Newbies -Your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!
Hop It To Me?! (Hershey, PA) – The cooler days of fall don’t just mean store shelves chock full of Oktoberfest beers or, lord knows, a whole bevy of pumpkin beers; there’s also recently harvested, fresh hop beers. Not to be missed this year is the Hop Knife Harvest Ale from Tröeg s Brewery. It’s a 6.2% ABV delight filled with citrus, resin, and tropical hop flavors, without being an overpowering, full-blown IPA. Make sure you get it before October. You’ve officially been warned…
Capital Session (Washington DC) – Once again, DC Beer Week will spotlight a collaboration beer created by ten breweries in the area, this time brewed at DC Brau, and it will be released at Gordon Biersch on Thursday night. This year’s offering is the Solidarity Session IPA, packed with enough malt to maintain mouthfeel and six different hops to pump up the IBU to 45, even though it only weighs in at 4.5% ABV. Here’s to a tasty yet mellow buzz DC!
Best Sour Pumpkin Evar! (San Jose, CA) – These days, the northwest is totally awash with amazing sour aged artisan beers, so why shouldn’t there be a pumpkin sour? If anyone can do it right, Almanac Beer will with their first time brewing of Dark Pumpkin Sour, weighing in at a sturdy 7% ABV. Brewed with organic heirloom pumpkins, spices, and aged in red wine barrels for a year, it’s certain to break anyone’s Basic Pumpkin Ale blues.
“One More Saturday Night” (Gary, IN) – Relative upstart 18th Street Brewing has teamed up with world-wide craftsmen Mikkeller to bust out a limited-release collab called Grapefruit Dead. This tasty sounding offering, adorned with some excellent deadhead art, is a Double IPA with Amarillo hops, grapefruit juice, and zest. Sure to turn anyone’s love light on at an ABV of 8.5% and 80 IBUs, make sure you get to Gary, Indiana, by noon on Thursday. Better get truckin’!
Damn, That’s A Complex Orange (Tillamook, OR) – Those in the know are seeking out the hand-crafted, small batch wonders coming out of de Garde Brewing’s small, Belgian focused barrel program. While their work is difficult to lay hands on, their Desay a l’Orange might be worth the drive… or flight. Their newest creation is a Saison aged in three different gin barrels for 14 months. Orange peel is added during the wild fermentation, then subtly dry hopped , bringing big orange and spicy delights to your nose and tongue buds.
