News

Aug 12, 2023

Dark Sky Brewing brews a beer for school supplies and more drinks to know this week

July 27, 2023Chris Crowell Before it became a brewery, Dark Sky Brewing’s original building on Beaver Street housed an office supplies store. To pay homage to this history and to give area students

July 27, 2023Chris Crowell

Before it became a brewery, Dark Sky Brewing’s original building on Beaver Street housed an office supplies store. To pay homage to this history and to give area students access to the school supplies they need, the brewery crafted Office Supplies Double Hazy IPA.

Office Supplies Double Hazy IPA will be released at Dark Sky Brewing on Friday, July 21 in tandem with the school supplies drive for Arizona Helping Hands. The beer will be available on tap and in cans to-go, as well as in cans across the brewery’s Arizona distribution footprint.

On Tuesday, August 1, a Dark Sky tap takeover at Gilbert’s Beer Barn taproom and bottle shop will feature Office Supplies and some Are you smarter than a 5th grader? trivia too. Beer Barn will host a school supplies drive as well, with donations going to San Tan Elementary School.

Both supply drives go through the end of August. This effort is one of many monthly activities that the brewery’s nonprofit organization Dark Sky Community executes to support causes they care about.

Curieux cans are coming to California. For the first time ever, Maine-based Allagash Brewing Company will offer their award-winning, Barrel-Aged Golden Ale in a can format. The 4-packs of 16-ounce cans will roll out exclusively across the brand’s California distribution footprint beginning in August and are slated to appear in the Allagash tasting room near the end of July.

“Curieux is the first barrel-aged beer we’ve ever made and a fan favorite that has been going strong since 2004,” said Naomi Neville, Sales Director, Allagash. “California in particular has a longstanding relationship with Curieux; the state is the biggest market for this beer, and it has a loyal following here. When we thought of trying this new can format, we wanted to pick a market where we are confident it will be well-received.”

The beer is brewed by aging Allagash Tripel Ale in freshly emptied bourbon barrels for approximately seven weeks—before blending that barrel-aged beer with a portion of fresh Tripel—all of which layers the beer with notes of vanilla, caramel, oak and a hint of bourbon. The result is a flavorful, multi-faceted ale with a crisp, dry finish. The new Curieux cans also feature an updated design that focuses on the specific elements of the beer that resonate most with drinkers, including bourbon barrel-aging and its ABV as prominent elements on the can.

“We’ve made hundreds of beers over the years, but there’s something about Curieux that inspires a whole other level of dedication and passion. It remains our most popular barrel-aged beer nearly 20 years after we first created it through curiosity and experimentation,” said Rob Tod, Founder, Allagash. “We’re excited about giving people a new way to experience this beloved beer.”

Indeed Brewing Company released Modern Age Session IPA, packed with sweet and citrusy notes of orange, pineapple, mango, and berries. It has a subtle malt profile that lets Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, and Strata hop superstars shine bright in this 3.8% ABV, medium-bodied, low-calorie brew.

“There’s few hoppy session beers that we love to drink — Size 4 from Steel Toe and Founders All Day IPA are the two that come to mind — and we’re excited to add a really awesome beer to that category, “says Ryan Bandy, Director of Experience, Indeed Brewing Company. “It took us a few different batches of R&D to get this one right, but the final liquid is delicious. I love the hop profile with the classic combo of Citra and Mosaic and then adding newer hops like Galaxy and Strata. The brewers found a way to have it drink closer to a 6% IPA, with a nice mouthfeel and a little bitterness. But, as an aging Millennial, we all appreciate the ability to have a few beers without needing to call the uber or take a nap!”

Mother Road Brewing Co. and the Grand Canyon Lodges Team are digging up history for the sake of new beer and celebrating their partnership with Ringtale Pale Ale. These teams are pulling archives from radical hospitality trailblazer, Fred Harvey, to commemorate years of successful teamwork and an affinity for guest service.

Ringtale Pale Ale is a brew inspired by old recipes for food and beer, documents from the Harvey Girls themselves, and 5-cent prices from 1876. This beer is complete with fresh, native juniper berries and a crisp bright finish. The Ringtale Pale Ale collaboration brew can now be enjoyed at Maswick Lodge, El Tovar, Bright Angel, and Mother Road’s Taproom in downtown Flagstaff while supplies last.

Mother Road’s new seven-barrel copper-clad system located in downtown Flagstaff, Ariz., is being utilized to educate and develop new brews with their long-term partners.

Hard tea purveyor Wild T released its latest flavor – Wild T Original. At a supremely drinkable 5% ABV, flavors include Black Cherry Bourbon Barrel and Strawberry Pineapple at retailers in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kentucky and Connecticut.

Wild T’s hard teas feature rare flavors and the unique, refreshing tastes of all-vegan ingredients and loose-leaf green and black tea. Brewed with a blend of green and black tea, it’s an all-natural, gluten-free refresher with no artificial flavorings. The classic taste of tea is brightened at the end of each sip with a hint of lemon.

“Hard tea has never tasted quite like this,” said Wild Ohio Brewing President Joe Noll. “We brew with real tea that allows the real essence and flavor of tea to come through every sip. The color, the aroma, and the taste make Wild T a very enjoyable, easy drinking beverage.”

Tröegs Independent Brewing announced the release of Hopora, a new offering in its popular Hop Cycle series of rotating IPAs. It joins seasonal fan-favorites Field Study and Blizzard of Hops. A tribute to the hop spirit for a bountiful crop, Hopora was designed to showcase the radiant tropical fruit and citrus notes of Solero hops.

“I like to think Hopora captures the best of both IPA worlds – West Coast and hazy,” says Tröegs brewmaster and co-founding brother John Trogner. “It’s got just the right amount of bitterness that rolls into tropical aromas with notes of mango and passionfruit. Plus, it’s super tasty and the name is fun to say… HOPORA!!!”

Built on a backbone of pale malt, oats, and wheat, Hopora IPA clocks in at 6.2% ABV. Citra and Chinook hops round out the hop bill with supporting notes of grapefruit rind and subtle pine. Like many of the Hershey, PA, brewery’s recent beers, Hopora was developed through its 3-barrel “Scratch Lab” brewhouse and fermentation tanks.

“With the Scratch Lab, we can break up 15-barrel brews into smaller trials,” says Tröegs Brewing Manager Tim Mayhew. “It has allowed us to test things like dry-hop combinations and yeast strains side-by-side at a faster rate. We used to have to wait a few weeks between batches.”

Fort Myers Brewing Co. has earned a gold medal at the 2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship, a national brewing competition that judges more beer styles than any other competition in the world. The brewery was awarded gold in the Chocolate/Cocoa Beer category for its popular Chocolate Stout, an imperial stout that balances sweet, rich chocolate with notes of roasted barley and espresso.

“We are honored that our Chocolate Stout received a gold medal in such a prestigious nationwide competition,” said Rob Whyte, who co-founded Fort Myers Brewing in 2013 with his wife, Jen. “We enjoy creating unique and flavorful craft brews, and it means a lot to us to see others enjoy our specialty beers as much as we do.”

The U.S. Open Beer Championship is held annually and is open to both professional breweries and award-winning home brewers. This year, breweries from Maui to Miami sent more than 9,000 beers (3,107 entries) representing over 160 different styles.

Awards were given in 147 beer-style categories during the award ceremony at the U.S. Open Event Center in Oxford, Ohio. This is the second time Fort Myers Brewing has medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championship, previously earning a gold medal for its Chocolate Stout at the 2018 competition.