Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/751263
Holiday Beer www.beveragedynamics.com November/December 2016 • Beverage Dynamics 27 is infused with three different types of ginger during the brewing process, which accentuates the traditional holiday spice and makes food-beer pairings easy. The third beer, Dead Bear, is a member of the Peak series brand family. "They combine intensity, ad- venturous fl avors, and usually spe- cial brewing techniques. We say that they are the pinnacle of our brewer's art," she adds. The imperial stout is draft only and available exclusively at on-premise accounts. However, Lip- scombe hints that "consumers will be seeing a lot more of Dead Bear in 2017. We're looking forward to bringing it out in 2017 and even having some interesting twists on the beer." VARIETY IN A BOX When asked about favorite craft beer styles, a substantial number of consumers reply "variety," referring not, of course, to a style, but to popular trend of including an assortment of beers in a single six- or twelve-pack. Retailers will know that variety packs proliferate during the holidays, ready for convenient entertaining. Newport Storm Brewery in Newport, RI, includes four dif- ferent beers in its "12 Sheets to the Wind Winter Variety Pack," fi rst released in 2014. The selection includes two year-round beers: Hurricane Amber Ale and India Point IPA. "Everyone loves to have Hurricane Amber Ale, our fl agship. And IPA is everyone's go-to favorite all year round, as well," says Theresa Malafronte, PR and events coordinator for the brewery. The pack also includes two different seasonal beers, both variations on the porter style. The Winter Porter can also be purchased separately. "Our Winter Porter is a little maltier; it's the darkest beer in the line-up, brewed with dark chocolate and crystal malts, East Kent Golding hops for fl avor, but no aroma hops, which allows the malt profi le to come through," she adds. The fi nal beer in the pack, a smoked porter, is only available in the seasonal variety pack. "It's got that barbeque background of smoke and bacon that a lot of people crave during the winter," Malafronte says. Smoked Porter is brewed with a portion of malt smoked over beech- wood. Introduced in 2014, this is the newest beer in the collection. This winter marks the third re- lease of infRIngement (the name is capitalized to stress the 'RI" of Rhode Island). This Russian impe- rial stout is aged in Thomas Tew rum barrels (from a distillery owned by the same company). "The beer was designed to have enough roasted bitterness and body to balance out the impacts of the sweetness from the barrel and the pickup of the remnants of rum," Malafronte says. "infRIngement goes well beyond just throwing beer in a barrel. It was the destination after a four-year exploration into the realm of beer aging in rum barrels." The second special seasonal, Annual Release '16, is the 17th in this series since 2000. The new release is inspired by winter hot cocoa, with chocolate malt and cacao nibs contributing choc- olate fl avors, and vanilla and milk sugar evoking marshmallow fl avor. The Annual Release series, "big beers that follow no set style," come in wax-sealed and corked 750-ml bottles, a presen- tation that makes them attractive holiday gifts. WESTERN ACCENTS Karl Strauss Brewing Company is San Diego's oldest microbrew- ery, the pioneer that launched a vibrant community of brewers. Interestingly, like Newport Storm, the Strauss winter seasonal is a smoked porter. WITH THEIR GENERALLY MORE ROBUST CHARACTER, HIGHER ALCOHOL LEVELS AND ADDI- TIONS OF SPICE OR CITRUS, THE WINTER SEASONALS OFFER THE GREATEST CONTRAST TO "BEER AS USUAL."