New Beer Friday, Summer's Not Over Edition (August 4)

Steve fishing the Pere Marquette River.

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

It’s August already and if my cache of Squirrel Nut Zippers got replenished each time I heard someone lamenting that fact in the store over the last few days I'd have enough nut-laced caramels to last me through the other side of Christmas.

It's easy to get discouraged when we realize that summer is zipping by (pun intended) but there's still plenty to look forward to over the next two months. Tomatoes are getting ripe and that means caprese salads and fresh spaghetti sauce. Bushels of peaches and plums are starting to show up on roadside stands and in a month or so my wife Barb and I will be sourcing Michigan grown grapes for our homemade wine.

Late summer means days of pastel blue skies and serenades of chirping crickets at night. I'm looking forward to the first tinge of red on the backyard maples, to fresh apple cider and to late summer fly fishing on the Big Sauble, Little Manistee and the Pere Marquette.

When the first of August arrives there's always a tendency to lament the ineluctable passing of summer. It's always good to remind ourselves that another eight weeks of summer still lie still ahead.

New and Returning Beer

• Shiner Oktoberfest, $1.69/12oz - "This festive seasonal has a deep amber color and slightly toasted flavor. The initial rich malty aroma and sweetness fades to a moderately dry, hoppy finish" (source).
• Blakes Black Phillip, $2.09/12oz - "This new cranberry and blood orange infused semi-sweet cider veers away from the more predictable fall style brews with a more complex and interesting flavor that is perfect for Autumn. This is Blake’s Hard Cider’s first seasonal to be launched in a 12 oz can and it will be distributed in 8 states throughout the midwest" (source).
• New Belgium VooDoo Atomic Pumpkin, 1.69/12oz - "Not too spicy, not too sweet, and not like any pumpkin beer you’ve had before. This pumpkin was brewed with Saigon Cinnamon and Habanero and De Arbol peppers for an explosion of flavors that’ll keep you coming back for more" (source).
• Dark Horse Oktoberfest, $1.99/12oz - "Copious amounts of Bonlander Munich Malt give this beer a great malt sweetness and very big body to enjoy with the change in season. This beer is released to coincide with the official Oktoberfest in Munich Germany" (source).
• Dark Horse Thirsty Trout Porter, $1.99/12oz - "Thirsty Trout is a rich, robust American Porter. Dark brown in color with medium to heavy body and hints of light roast. Aromas of chocolate leave way to a full mouthfeel and somewhat sweet finish to make this porter a desirable companion..Thirsty Trout is a rich, robust American Porter that will have you yelling "CHOCOLATE!" after the first whiff. Dark brown in color with medium body and hints of light roast. The aromas of chocolate cupcake lead the way to a sweet caramel and toffee body that finish beautifully with hops. Stay trout my friends" (source).
• North Peak Dauntless, $1.79/12oz - "Brewed with a traditional Munich lager yeast, Dauntless is a copper colored mal forward salute to the Oktoberfest celebration taking place in Germany every year sine 1810. Tettnang and Hallertauer hops compliment the malt flavors by adding subtle, spicy hop notes. Malty, smooth and eminently drinkable" (source).
• North Peak Zephyr, $2.59/12oz - "Mosaic Lupulin Powder, Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook, Columbus. Oats added" (source).
• Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, $1.69/12oz - "Each year, we partner with a different German brewer to explore the roots of Germany’s famous Oktoberfest beers. This year, we’re collaborating with Germany’s Brauhaus Miltenberger, whose approach to the classic style we’ve long admired. The result is a festival beer true to their style—deep golden in color with deceptively rich malt flavor and balanced by traditional German-grown whole-cone hops" (source).
• Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail, $2.89/12oz - "Did you like Before During and after Christmas, maybe you thought it poured brilliantly, the alcohol was admirable well hidden and you loved how the arrogant amounts of hops numbed your mouth. This beer will knock your tongue off - it’s a tour de force in hoppiness and by far one the craziest beer ever made by Evil Twin Brewing" (source).
• La Sirène Sour Red, $11.99/500ml - "La Sirène’s Sour Red (6.0% ABV)  is a rustic hybrid ale brewed using age-old brewing techniques with modern innovation. Naturally soured using resident lactobacillus bacteria, this sour red ale is comprised of 5 specialty Belgian grains along with fresh organic rose petals and hibiscus to provide a provincial farmhouse style sour red ale experience" (source).
• Mikkeller Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Passionfruit, $4.79/500ml - "Berliner-style Weisse beer brewed with Passionfruit" (source).
• Still Water Stateside Saison, $2.59/16oz - "Pays homage to old world tradition while celebrating new world innovation. Naturally brewed with the finest European malts & fresh aromatic hops from the United States & New Zealand. It's then fermented using a classic farmhouse ale yeast and bottle conditioned to enhance stability. The outcome is a beer of unique design and exquisite taste, showcasing some of the best attributes of modern-day craft brewing" (source).
• Erdinger Oktoberfest, $2.09/12oz - "This golden, clear Erdinger is brewed all-naturally, using traditional barrel-fermentation, never pasteurized" (source).
• Hofbrau Oktoberfest, $1.89/12oz - "Modern style Oktoberfest. Like a Helles brewed to “Fest” strength. Blonde in color. Spicy, noble hops along with some maltiness. Enjoyable, honey-like finish" (source).
• Left Hand Oktoberfest, $2.29/12oz - "This is no festivus for the restuvus – on the contrary – we start brewing in the Spring and it takes a full two months to reach lagered perfection. Biscuity, malty goodness dominates upfront while the noble pedigree hops lend a properly spicy, dry finish. Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi. Time to roast your chicken and upend your stein before the air gets crisp, the leaves flame and fall and the skies fade to black" (source).
• Short's Hazy ControversiALE, $1.99/12oz - "Hazy ControversiALE is an American India Pale Ale brewed with Simcoe hops and dry hopped with Simcoe powder. Moderately hazy and copper-colored, this beer has a slightly off-white head with aromas of citrus, caramel, and toasted grain. This variation on Short’s classic, ControversiALE, has more prominent citrus notes and a juicier mouth feel in comparison to the original. A strong malt backbone allows the flavor of Simcoe hops to shine before a slightly bitter finish" (source).
• Great Lakes Oktoberfest, $1.69/12oz - "Prost! Our take on this classic German style is a celebration of maltiness— packed with rustic, autumnal flavors to put a little more oomph into your oom-pah-pah" (source).
• Southern Tier Harvest, $1.69/12oz - "Harvest Ale is our celebration of the changing weather and the sowing of hops and barley that will be used in our upcoming brews. We usher in the fall with a classic English style Extra Special Bitter of the highest order. Deep ruby in color with an even deeper hop flavor… in fact, we throw fresh English hops into every brewing vessel, then dry hop after fermentation to impart a zesty kick. This beer has real hop character that mingles with fresh malted barley for an experience that will make you wish it were fall year ‘round" (source).
• Southern Tier Pumking, $4.19/12oz - "Pumking is an ode to Púca, a creature of Celtic folklore, who is both feared and respected by those who believe in it. Púca is said to waylay travelers throughout the night, tossing them on its back, and providing them the ride of their lives, from which they return forever changed. Brewed in the spirit of All Hallows Eve, a time of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world and when magic is most potent. Pour Pumking into a goblet and allow it’s alluring spirit to overflow. As spicy aromas present themselves, let it’s deep copper color entrance you as your journey into this mystical brew has just begun. As the first drops touch your tongue a magical spell will bewitch your taste buds making it difficult to escape the Pumking" (source).
• Southern Tier Warlock, $4.99/12oz - "Imperial stout brewed with pumpkins Warlock is brewed to enchant your palate on its own and also to counterpoint our Imperial Ale, Pumking. Make your own black magic by carefully pouring this Imperial Stout into a goblet" (source).
• O'Fallon Pumpkin, $1.99/12oz - "Like pumpkin pie in a bottle…we add 120 pounds of real pumpkin to the three-barley mash and then season the finished beer with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves" (source).
• O'Fallon Vanilla Pumpkin, $1.99/12oz - "We decided to add some locally produced cold-pressed Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla to our most popular seasonal– O’Fallon Pumpkin. The vanilla adds another layer of flavor to the “pumpkin pie” theme of this amber ale and balances well with the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. It tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it" (source).
• Atwater Blocktoberfest, $1.99/12oz - "Absolutely traditional in design and execution, Atwater’s Bloktoberfest exhibits bready, nut-like characters with a clean, light sweetness brought to heel by a crisp hop finish" (source).
• Tripelroot Training Session, $1.89/12oz - "Session IPA" (source).
• Tripelroot Perception Defines Reality, $14.99/22oz - "Belgian-style Tripel" (source).
• Wells Dry Hopped Lager, $1.99/12oz - "A well-hopped  continental lager which is both, refreshing and sessionable.  This delightful beer is cold conditioned for two weeks with Australian Galaxy and Ella hops, which bring out deep flavors and a dry-hop character" (source).
• Crankers End of the World, $10.49/22oz - "This insanely aromatic Double IPA is brewed and Double Dry Hopped with a special blend of the most exclusive hops on the planet. This beer was designed to be consumed before the End of the World, not after it. So drink now, drink fresh, because tomorrow is never promised...and the aliens are moving at the speed of light" (source).
• Lagunitas Lil' Sumpin Extra, $1.99/12oz - "The big sister of the Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale. Lots of wheat for a curious malt complexity and leaving it light in color, but huge in flavor and satisfaction" (source).
• Knee Deep Auburn Pale Ale, $2.29/16oz - "A crisp, clean double-filtered West Coast Pale Ale brewed with citrusy, fruity and dank hops. This pale ale is juicy yet refreshingly clean. We double-filter this hoppy pale ale in the traditional North East Auburn manner" (source).
• Oddside Zure Kers, $9.59/500ml - "Sour wheat ale fermented with tart cherries" (source).

Video of the Week | Summer Persists

A friendly reminder that, despite all the fall beers in this week's NBF, summer is still here.

Cheers!