Newbies – New Releases That You Want to Look Out For

So many beers, So little time…Newbies is your essential map to the “best of the best” and the hottest new craft beers rolling out each week. From Stone’s Go To IPA to the latest release from Firestone Walker and Starr Hill – we’ve got all kinds of new releases you’re going to want to chase down.

So welcome to another edition of Newbies -your ultimate guide to great new craft beers!

Go To IPA Debuts (Escondido, CA) – Our friends at Stone Brewing just released something we can’t wait to get our hands on. Stone Go To IPA is a 4.5% ABV session pale that’s brewed to be paired with another. Loaded with intense peach, citrus, and melon aromas and all the hop flavors that Stone IPAs are known for, Go To IPA is a low alcohol hop bomb.This was achieved utilizing a technique called “hop bursting” – a contemporary approach that involves a massive infusion of hops during the final phase of the brewing process. Stone Go To IPA is brewed with nine different hop varietal,  is meant to be consumed fresh or within 90 days, and will be available all year long.

Summit Gets Festive (Saint Paul, MN) – The Summit Brewing Company has announced the latest release in their Unchained Series. Summit Fest Bier is a German-American hybrid … brewer Nate Slats’ homage to the European tradition. It’s a cross between an Oktoberfest beer and a Wiesn beer that’s crisp, clean, and refreshing. This is the first lager brewed in the Unchained Series and it will be available on draft and in bottles the week of March 10.

Grateful All Year Long (Charlottesville, VA) – Mark Thompson and his crew at Starr Hill have a lot to be grateful for in 2014, including the year-round launch of Grateful Pale Ale, their sessionable pale ale that first debuted in 2013 as the brewery’s summer seasonal. Grateful is a fresh spin on the American Pale – it’s a light-bodied brew that’dry-hopped with a mix of Topaz, Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial hops, which produce a huge citrusy, piney aroma and big hop flavor. Grateful Pale Ale will return to retail in early March in kegs, 6-packs, and in Starr Hill’s summer variety 12-pack.

Betty Now 365 (Redlands, CA) – Hangar 24 Craft Brewery will be adding an exciting new beer that was named after the iconic Betty Grable pin-up image that graced many a WWII aircraft to their year-round lineup this month. Betty IPA is an American India Pale Ale featuring a blend of Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe, and Centennial hops. The brewery spent 8 months perfecting the hop-blend that carefully balances four Pacific Northwestern hops to build a 6.5% ABV IPA that is pleasantly bitter yet drinkable.

805 LA Bound (Los Angeles, CA) – A popular Firestone Walker “hometown favorite” will be making its way to Hollywood this month. 805, a 4.7% ABV blonde ale, was originally made as an ode to the brewery’s Central Coast region. But contraband soon made its way to LA, where the bootlegged beer became legend.“805 has become a cultural phenomenon from the Central Coast through Southern California,” said co-owner David Walker. “It’s something we didn’t anticipate, and in many ways it’s out of our hands.”