There is still a month of summer left and I have some fascinating new releases for your consideration. This is really an impressive and creative line up. So, get out there and try them before they’re all gone.
Ska “Esteval” Cream Stout
5.8% ABV |
Estival is part of Ska’s Seasonal Stout Series, fitting for a summer release with its modest alcohol and medium body. Brewed with orange blossom honey, milk sugar, and aged on orange peels, it opens with notes of cream and coffee as a bit of that orange pokes through. On the palate, the orange flavor is more pronounced, while the creaminess persists. Full-flavored, yet lighter in body, it will make a great alternative when you feel like something more substantial than a lager or pale ale but still not too heavy.
As with all four of the stouts in the Seasonal Stout Series, Estival is released in cans. Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and produces over a dozen beers, many of which are available in cans. Can or bottle or tap, make a point of checking out this one.
Breckenridge “Buddha’s Hand”
6% ABV | 15 IBU
This is the first release in Breckenridge’s “Mountain Series” designed for beers using special ingredients. The Mountain Series is a collection of pilot, small batch, and seasonal brews intended to showcase the creativity and experimentation in the brewery’s original Breckenridge brewpub and usually only available at the pub. As Breckenridge now maintains its production facility in Denver and has become the nation’s 40th largest craft brewery, the Mountain Series celebrates the brewery’s origin in 1990 as a small, ski town brewpub.
This limited edition, special release is a Belgian-style Witbier (wheat beer) brewed with the ancient citron fruit called “Buddha’s Hand,” a tropical fruit segmented into finger-like sections, said to resemble the hand of Buddha. This crisp and refreshing ale leads with creamy malt and mixed citrus fruits accented with pine notes. Similar flavors are supplemented with the taste of cardamom while it finishes crisp and refreshing.
Buddha’s Hand is included in the new Rocky Mountain Sampler 12-pack, which also features three of the brewery’s favorites, like Vanilla Porter, Avalanche, and Lucky U IPA. Future Mountain Series inclusions also will offer a seasonal touch to the package.
Deschutes
Deschutes offers us three special releases, each of which certainly can be enjoyed now but might be even better if you let them age a few months. Founded in 1988 as a brewpub in Bend, Oregon, Deschutes Brewery is known for brewing a diverse line-up of beers. And each of these would make good drinking any time of year.
Foray Belgian-Style IPA
6.4% ABV | 60 IBU
Malt: Pilsner, Carapils
Hops: Nugget, Amarillo, Mosiac, CTZ, Galaxy
Other: Belgian Yeast Strain
Foray is a brand-new addition to Deschutes’ Bond Street Series lineup (available in 22-ounce bottles and draft). It made its way into those bottles the same way all the Bond Street Series beers do – by being a popular “experiment” at Deschutes’ pubs. I would describe it as a hybrid incorporating elements of traditional Belgian ale delivering fruity notes and an American India Pale Ale with its typically pronounced citrusy hop character. A fairly new style, more and more breweries are releasing Belgian-style IPAs. They can only aspire to this level of quality.
Black Butte XXVI
10.8% ABV |
Malt: Pale, Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal
Hops: Millennium, Cascade, U.S. Tettnang
Other: Theo Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Pomegranate Molasses, Cranberries
Every year, Deschutes celebrates its anniversary with this double version of the flagship Black Butte Porter (part of the Reserve Series available in 22-ounce wax-dipped bottles and draft). But they don’t just replicate the same 
formula. They experiment with new ingredients. Past Black Butte’s have included chilies, chocolate nibs, dates, and figs, among other additions. This year, Deschutes says they decided to add cranberries, pomegranate molasses and Theo’s cocoa nibs. And half of the batch was aged in bourbon barrels.
This is a “Wow!” beer in all ways. The nose is loaded with coffee, chocolate, honey, coriander, orange, malt, and an herbal note reminiscent of basil. It also reveals hints of vanilla and of raisiny red fruit I can only assume come from those cranberries and pomegranates. These qualities carried over into my mouth, where they were joined by a balancing bitterness, some spice and a lingering aftertaste.
Doppel Dinkel Bock (Conflux Series No. 3)
10.5% ABV | 17 IBU
Malt: Spelt Malt, Carared Malt, Pilsner, Wheat Malt, Chocolate Wheat
Hops: Bravo, US Tettnang, Citra
Other: Traditional German Ale Yeast
One thing that is so cool about the craft beer industry is that even with the rapid growth of the past few years, both in terms of sales volume and new breweries, brewers don’t just compete for market share. There is an amazing amount of collaboration and collegiality.
I have one notable example here: this collaboration beer between Deschutes and Germany’s Distelhauser. After a friendship that spans two decades, they decided to collaborate on this unique beer. The brew deftly balances the dinkel malt (spelt, instead of the typical wheat, or weiss, malt) profile from Germany with the hop qualities of the Pacific Northwest. Deschutes describes this as an “imperial spelt beer.” The result features aromas of coffee, sweet malt, cherry vanilla, and a slight spiciness. It drinks full bodied but smooth.
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA and Latitutde 48 IPA Single Hop Varieties
6.0% ABV | 60 IBU
Malt: Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, Caramel 60, and Gambrinus Honey
Hops: Hallertau Mittelfrueh, East Kent Golding, Zeus, Simcoe, Ahtanum, Mosaic
Other: Top-fermenting Ale yeast strain
Finally, a fascinating exercise in “hopology.” Latitude 48 IPA is brewed with a blend of five different hop varieties from notable growing regions in Germany, the UK, and the US, all (interestingly) close to the 48th Latitude. There is seldom an opportunity for those of us outside the brewing process to experience separately the character of the individual hop varieties in a beer.
Needless to say, I was quite surprised to find the box left on my doorstep contained not only samples of Latitute 48 IPA but also samples of single-hop IPAs for each of the five varieties. What the brewery calls “Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed” is available in 12-packs, so you can you can try the hop study yourself. It’s a brilliant idea and my tasting notes follow, first for the single hop bottles, then for the whole package:
Mosaic (Yakima Valley, WA) – pronounced grapefruit and some tropical notes, both on the nose and the palate, with the palate showing a little malt but mostly citrus and some tropical notes
East Kent Goldings (East Kent, UK) – spicy grapefruit dominates the very fresh aromas but a piney note emerges; tangy citrus joins a similar profile in the mouth, then it turns leafy and bitter just before pomegranate emerges; all this happens with a malty underpinning and finishes bitter and resinous, and maybe even tobacco (!)
Hallertau Mittelfreuh (Bavaria, Germany) – presents with spicy lemon and pine, then the palate follows with creamy, malty notes wrapped in more spice and some citrus
Simcoe (Yakima Valley, WA) – opens malty with hints of grapefruit and a sense of firmness, all of which continues in the mouth, which is dominated by grapefruit
Zeus (Yakima Valley, WA) – pleasant lime and light malt characterize the otherwise understated bouquet; drinks with strong citrus – lime and grapefruit – some spice, and a nicely bitter aftertaste
Latitude 48 IPA (reconstructed) – The nose presents mostly sweet malt character with light touches of citrus and 
pine. Drinking it reveals more prominent grapefruit and spice, with touches of tobacco. It is full and solid finishing crisp with a nicely bitter touch. This is a milder IPA style and is a welcome alternative to the many “monster” IPAs out there.
Certainly, it mirrors the citrus, spice, tobacco, and bitterness found variously in the single hop varieties. But none of the qualities dominate the overall brew. And maybe that’s the point of the study – suggestions of the character of each hop variety can be discerned in the whole but success in creating a balanced brew means that none overwhelms the others. In the end, the whole is greater or at least different than the sum of its parts.