American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
So many beers, so little time……With so many craft breweries, releasing so many beers, we thought it might help to provide a weekly update on all the new beers that are hitting the streets …..So welcome to this week’s edition of Newbies – your guide to great new craft beer releases!
Valentine’s Day Special (Kent, WA) – Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Airways Brewing Company is releasing a sweet treat for craft beer lovers throughout the Seattle and Tacoma area. Ebony in color with a rich creamy head, Airways Chocolate Stout is approachable (5.5% ABV) and it’s now available in 22 oz. bottles and on draught.
New Belgium Goes Rampant (Ft. Collins, CO) – Our friends at New Belgium Brewing continue their wide-ranging exploration 
of IPAs with their latest release – Rampant Imperial IPA. Rampant is a hefty 8.5% ABV Imperial that pours copper and it’s available now in 12 oz. and 22 oz. bottles and on draft in most New Belgium markets.
Major Brewer Doomed! (Grand Rapids, MI) – Okay maybe we did get a little over-dramatic, but Founders Brewing Company is introducing Doom, a bourbon barrel-aged Imperial IPA, this April to mark the sixth installment in the brewery’s popular Backstage Series. Doom is unleashed when Founders’ award-winning specialty Imperial IPA, Double Trouble, is aged in bourbon barrels for four months to create a volatile flavor experience. Like all Backstage Series beers, Doom will be sold in 750 ml bottles.
21st Amendment Lowers The Boom (San Francisco, CA) – Honoring tradition, but adding its signature creative twist, 21st Amendment Brewery today announced the release of Lower De Boom Barleywine, a powerfully balanced American-Style barleywine packed with citrusy hops. Co-founders Shaun O’Sullivan and Nico Freccia said they believe this is the first American craft beer ever to be packaged in an 8.4 oz. can, the perfect size for the traditional barleywine “nip.” Freccia adds, “When they were first brewed, barleywines were almost exclusively sold in small bottles and we wanted to recapture that tradition in a new way, with a new can. Plus, at 11.5% alcohol, any larger a serving and you might feel like the boom has been lowered on you!”
Victory Springs Forward (Downingtown, PA) – Mark your calendars everyone, because on March 1,Victory Brewing Company will be introducing its newest spring seasonal. Victory Swing Session Saison represents a blend of American and European brewing traditions, made with both whole flower US-grown and German noble hops, and an heirloom Belgian farmhouse yeast strain. Swing is brewed with wheat, rye, oat, and barley malt, as well as peppercorns, and is super-drinkable, clocking in at a refreshing 4.5% ABV.
SweetWater 16 (Atlanta, GA) – To commemorate their 16th anniversary, SweetWater Brewing Company will be releasingSweetWater 16 Red Wheat Wine Ale. Part of their “Dank Tank Series,” SweetWater 16 is a serious hybrid ale that weighs in at an unapologetic 11% ABV and will soon become available on draft and in 22 oz. bombers – so be forewarned!
Two Newbies from Surly (Brooklyn Center, MN) – Seems Surly Brewing Company has two interesting new releases and they couldn’t be more different. Surly Mild is the brewery’s first-ever session beer at 3.8% ABV and it made its seasonal return early last week. The beer is draft-only so look for it at bars. Equally exciting is the debut of Pentagram Sour Ale, a 100% Brettanomyces dark beer fermented in stainless and aged in used red wine barrels.
