Category : Marketing/PR
Received: A sixer of Pyramid
February 20th, 2010These came today:
A six-pack consisting of two each of (Spring) Fling Pale Ale, Haywire Hefeweizen, and Audacious Apricot Ale, all from Pyramid Brewing. Looks like they came in connection with my Hop Press blogging, though I’m not sure where the reviews will ultimately show up—there or here. Either way, it’s all good.
Received: Jubel 2010
February 8th, 2010This came today:
Deschutes Brewery’s newest Reserve Series beer, Jubel 2010 (“Once a Decade Ale”) and a goblet—which is identical to the goblets they were handing out during their Release Party Friday night (I picked up one of those as well, so now I have two).
Incidentally, I can say that Jubel is big and plummy and sweet and sticky, hiding its 10% alcohol really well. But I’ll do a more detailed review soon, from this bottle.
Received: Deschutes Hop Henge
January 11th, 2010The 2010 iteration of Deschutes Brewery’s Hop Henge Experimental IPA arrived today:
The label looks the same as last year, and I checked for the presence of “Batch #” text on the site. (There was none.) I actually still have some bottles of 2009 Hop Henge in my stash; might be a fun vertical.
Received: Red Chair NWPA, Cinder Cone Red
December 26th, 2009Christmas Eve day I was home from work early and UPS delivered a last-minute Christmas present from Deschutes Brewery:
Three bottles of the new Red Chair NWPA (Northwest Pale Ale) and three bottles of the final release of Cinder Cone Red.
Red Chair is of course based on the Red Chair IPA they released earlier this year, and is the beer that will be replacing Cinder Cone Red. What’s interesting is that this batch of Cinder Cone is not just the last batch (ever!), but it’s also only going to be available in Oregon and Washington—and Red Chair NWPA will be available everywhere Deschutes distributes except Oregon and Washington, until Cinder Cone sells out.
While I’m sorry to see Cinder Cone discontinued, replacing it with a Red Chair variant is a good move. And the packaging is sharp, too. Here’s another look:
Received: Buckbean Brewing beer
December 15th, 2009I received a package yesterday from Buckbean Brewing Company, out of Reno, Nevada:
You remember Buckbean: they’re the ones that held the Canned Beer Festival earlier this fall. I’m looking forward to trying these out.
Received: Abyss shirt and brewery goblet
November 3rd, 2009As part of the much-anticipated launch of The Abyss (which is officially today, the 3rd), Deschutes Brewery had sent to me an “official” Release Party invitation, and sweetened the deal with a Brewery goblet and the new Abyss long-sleeved T-shirt. Check it out:
That’s a sharp shirt.
Received: A pair of Michelobs
October 22nd, 2009These two beers came in a package for me today:
Michelob Bavarian Wheat and the one I’m more interested in trying, their new Rye P.A.—a Rye India Pale Ale. The original press release is here. It’s 5.9% alcohol by volume and has 50 IBUs—not exactly traditional IPA territory but it still sounds interesting. I like how Michelob is the arm of Anheuser-Busch doing more experimental beers, stuff you wouldn’t expect to see coming from A-B, well, ever.
I’ll report on it as I drink it.
Received: Redhook Treblehook Barleywine
October 6th, 2009Today I received a package containing Redhook’s new Treblehook Barleywine (for which I ironically posted the press release this morning), the latest in their Limited Release series (the last was their Tripel). It’s a 10.1% alcohol American-style Barleywine, and the brewer encourages aging it (for up to one to three years), which seems to be a growing trend (Deschutes’ Reserve Series labels this year have a “best after” date of one year after the release).
There was also a special “Limited Release” bit of glassware in the package (the Tripel also came bundled with glassware), a small-ish snifter-style glass.
I’m looking forward to trying it. I rather liked the Tripel and Barleywine is a favorite style of mine (seems like I’ve been saying that about a lot of styles lately).
BrewDog’s Nanny State: 1.1% alcohol
September 29th, 2009If there’s one thing Scotland-based upstart BrewDog is known for, it’s publicity: they know how to get attention and drive a story, for good or ill. Recently they engendered just such publicity with the release of their Tokyo* (yes, for some reason there’s an asterisk in the name), a monstrous Imperial Stout with 18.2% alcohol by volume which caused an uproar in the UK for being, well, strong.
To be fair, it was a pretty ridiculous uproar, considering you can buy 80-proof whiskey and other such spirits all over the place there.
But BrewDog has countered with yet another extreme: a 1.1% alcohol beer called Nanny State. According to that BBC article:
Nanny State is described as a “mild imperial ale containing more hops per barrel than any other beer ever brewed in the UK”.
It is being made available in limited quantities online for £2.49.
On BrewDog’s blog they elaborate further:
Nanny State is mild imperial ale containing more hops per barrel than any other beer ever brewed in the UK. It is an extraordinary little ale jammed full of all the brewer’s favorite hops giving it as much body and mouthy feel as possible, ensuring that low strength does not translate into reduced flavour.
Nanny State, takes the low ABV hop-bomb concept to the next level and is so low in alcohol it is below the legal classification of beer and not strong enough to be subject to beer duty. We believe we have created a new beer category – The Imperial Mild – with Nanny State and How to Disappear Completely.
I just have to shake my head. Masters of PR, they are. And with a name like “Nanny State” it’s sure to generate more controversy—on purpose, of course.
Received: Widmer Cherry Oak Doppelbock
September 28th, 2009Last week I received a package from Widmer Brewing: the first bottle in their new Limited Release Series, Cherry Oak Doppelbock.
This new Limited Release line is going to be Widmer’s twice-a-year treat to beer geeks:
The Brothers’ Reserve line gives founders and brothers Kurt and Rob Widmer a chance to play with new styles and premium ingredients, showcasing their talent for innovation and honoring their creative passion for craft brewing. The goal is to offer high-end craft beer fans unique, one-of-a-kind brews that are truly limited in nature. These offering are for enthusiastic beer lovers, personally crafted by two of the most enthusiastic beer lovers around.
Cherry Oak Doppelbock is available in 22 ounce bottles uniquely packaged in an individual box. Fifty lucky Widmer Brothers fans will discover Kurt’s hand-signed bottles inside.
Bottles are extremely limited in quantity and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. The second release in the series is set to debut in Spring 2010.
This Cherry Oak Doppelbock is 9% alcohol by volume and, as the name implies, was brewed with cherries and aged on oak. I’m looking forward to opening this one up.
Received from Deschutes Brewery
September 16th, 2009UPS arrived today with a box from Deschutes Brewery. Since I’d just received Jubelale less than a month ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I suppose it’s obvious in retrospect.
Yes, it’s fresh hop season and Deschutes just brewed Hop Trip some three weeks ago; this is possibly as fresh as it gets from a commercial brewery. I’ll be opening this one real soon just because fresh hop beers aren’t meant to be aged and I’m very curious to taste a just-bottled version.
But wait! The box wasn’t empty yet; was it going to be another bottle of Hop Trip? Puzzled, I dug into the styrofoam peanuts and pulled out…
…and, as I twittered, nearly soiled myself. You could have knocked me over with a feather; I had no idea The Abyss was ready to be sent out this early. With an official November release coming up, I would have expected a late October showing of this, if anything. So I don’t really know what to say, except “Wow.”
Looking at them both together, a thought occurred to me: making a Black and Tan out of these two beers. Fresh hop ale with an Imperial Stout? Egads.
Received: Smashed Pumpkin
September 9th, 2009FedEx dropped this off tonight:
Shipyard Brewing’s latest in their Pugsley’s Signature Series, Smashed Pumpkin. (I mentioned it previously here.) ‘Tis the start of the season for pumpkin beers, and this one’s a big one: 9% alcohol by volume. I’m anxious to try it—regular readers know that pumpkin beers are a favorite of mine.
Received: Stone Vertical Epic 09.09.09
September 2nd, 2009It’s the week for getting beer: today I received a bottle of Stone Brewing’s latest once-yearly masterpiece, Vertical Epic 09.09.09. It’s so-named because the official release is on September 9th; the “Vertical Epic” part comes from the overall scheme: since 2002, Stone has released a Vertical Epic on the month, day, and year that numerically match up. 02.02.02, 03.03.03, etc.
Each beer is a one-off, a unique addition to the VE line, and somewhat strong in alcohol. They plan to release a Vertical Epic all the way to 12.12.12, and then—this is where the “Vertical” comes in—for those of you that have faithfully bought and kept a bottle every year from 2002 to 2012, you will have an “epic” vertical tasting of unique Stone beers.
It’s rather brilliant marketing, actually. And brilliant beer making, too; Stone makes good beers and has always been fairly extreme and cutting-edge. This 09.09.09 is 8.6% alcohol by volume and is a “Belgian Porter brewed with dark candi sugar, chocolate malt, tangerine peel, vanilla beans, and aged on French oak.” Past VEs have been similarly creative.
Also in the picture you’ll notice the DVD-sized item leaning against the bottle: yes, it’s a DVD, which is a neat piece of marketing too, the first such I’ve received with beer. It contains about two hours of features, most of which actually look pretty interesting. Perhaps I’ll watch it while drinking the beer.
Yes, I do plan on drinking it at some point, I’m not going to save it until 2012. If I actually had a bottle from each year, that might be a different story; I do have a bottle of the ‘06 or ‘07 (I don’t remember which) that I will probably drink as well. Plus there’s actually reviewing the beer. Which is part of the point.
More about the Jubelale
September 1st, 2009I’ve posted the press release for this year’s Jubelale (which I received yesterday). Some interesting bits:
Brewer John Abraham describes this year’s Jubelale as having a spiced nose, with hints of citrus, brown sugar and pine. Flavors of chocolate, molasses, dates, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves stand out against the caramel backbone from the 1,400 pounds of medium and dark crystal malt. Five malts and seven varieties of hops lace smoothly through the last sip. A proper pour will give up one and a half to two fingers of firm, almond biscotti-colored head.
The annual Bend countdown to Jubelale will begin in mid-September, with local reader boards counting down the days until the October 1 release. Both the Portland and Bend Pubs will host Jubelale release parties on October 1. The Portland Pub’s celebration will feature Jubelale art through the years, as part of Portland’s monthly “First Thursday” Gallery Walk.
Interesting, that they sent out the PR bottles a full month before the official release. Jeff thinks this is a good thing: “It means that the brewery is ahead of the game and allowing the little darlins to pass out of adolescence in time for delivery.”
At any rate, I’ll drink at least one for review soon.
Received: Deschutes Jubelale
August 31st, 2009It’s seems a bit early for Christmas, but Deschutes Brewery sent me something anyway: three bottles of the 2009 edition Jubelale, their Winter Warmer. And, what might be an exclusive: first pictures(?) of this year’s label, which I haven’t seen anywhere yet.
I knew the beer was being brewed, but I had no idea it was in the bottle yet—and it’s still August, no less! So I’m a little torn. Should I drink one now, or wait until it ages and matures a bit?
Here’s a closeup of this year’s label, which was painted by local Central Oregon artist Tracy Leagjeld:
I really like it, the purple especially. (Full press release to follow.)
