Some old friends - Stickeen, Gorgeous George, and Stellar Peak

These three favorites came back for our beer dinner last night and there is still a little bit left for today.  Get down to 3705 early though, there are probably about 15 pours left of Stickeen but you can never be too sure.

Stickeen - Double Dry-Hopped NE DIPA - 8.3%

This is our biggest, juiciest, softest IPA yet. We used especially dank, odiferous hop varieties for an unapologetically intense aromatic experience. The grist is composed of American two-row, malted white wheat, rolled oats, and carafoam for a grainy, cereal sweetness to support the fruit flavors from intense hopping with a total of over four pounds per barrel of Simcoe, Idaho 7, and Eureka.

Vermont ale yeast softens everything up with its peachy bubble gum and cotton candy fermentation character, but the palate is all syrupy pine sap, dank earthy musk, and a long chew on grapefruit skin. Worthy of celebrating near-fatal unplanned overnights on glacial ascents with adventure dogs.

Gorgeous George - Belgian-Style Quadrupel - 9.5%

We love and revere the Belgian brewing tradition, even as today's most popular styles (IPA, pale lager, and stout) hew towards German and English origins. You can count on catching classic takes on Belgian styles here at Cinderlands, just as you did with our witbier and saison over the past few months. The Quadrupel, or Belgian dark strong ale, is the most potent of the monastic beers, though the recipe is fairly straightforward. We start with a grist comprised mostly of floor-malted pilsner, then layer in the bready notes of light Munich, the deep raisiny tones of Special B, and the vinous sweetness of CaraRuby. We ferment with a famous trappist strain known for its bright, fruity esters, delicate spice, and crisp finish. Expect a beer full of the aromas of brown sugar, bubblegum, and puréed raisins. On the palate, there's fig, tobacco, and mild clove. This beer is decidedly sweet on balance, but with above-average effervescence and a dangerously dry finish for its strength. Copper-brown in color and perfectly bright with a mousse-like off-white head. This is a big beer, not quite inconspicuous like a set of car keys. We suggest not losing your chance to try one.

Stellar Peak - Double Dry-Hopped Sour NE IPA - 6.0%

Acid brings a new dimension to the typical flavors encountered in a new-fangled IPA. While brewers seek to absorb as much fruity flavor and aroma as possible into hazy IPAs and support those oil-derived aromas with enough residual extract and grain texture to make them sing, inviting the sharp tang of lactic acid to the party presents an interesting opportunity. We love New Zealand hop varieties largely because of how fruity and weird they can be. Two of our favorites, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin, present huge flavors reminiscent of key lime/vanilla and sauvignon blanc, respectively. Both of these absolutely begging for acidity to really pop, so we kettle soured our standard NE IPA wort and made it so. Fermentation occurred by way of Vermont Ale yeast and we laid on the hops heavy with a combined total of nearly four pounds per barrel of Motueka and Nelson Sauvin, including a hearty dose of the highly concentrated lupulin powder from Ekuanot. This is an intense, bright beer that opens up exciting new paths for future acid-forward, hoppy beers. More coming your way soon.

Cinderlands Opening Line Up

We have been working hard to fill our tanks and get beer in your hands. That time has come and we're thrilled to share our opening beer lineup with you. Come see us this week for a taste--we're excited to meet you. You can look forward to a new beer release or two almost every week.

Test Piece - NE IPA - 6.2% ABV

Made with flaked wheat, flaked oats, and lactose, we lay off the bitterness, amplify the mouthfeel, and jam the whirlpool and fermenter with a total of over two pounds per barrel of Eureka and Citra for a huge aromatic experience of overripe mango, grapefruit flesh, pressed black currant, and a sticky undertone of pine sap.  Round mouthfeel and medium body with a ripe fruit-tinged finish.

Passionfruit Whipper - Passionfruit Berliner Weisse - 4.8% ABV

Tart, punchy, and tropical. We start with 50% malted wheat, acidify the wort in the kettle with a direct pitch of Lactobacillus delbrueckii to 3.5 pH, then briefly boil the wort and send it to the fermenter for primary fermentation with a neutral ale strain. At the end of primary fermentation, we add passion fruit puree at a rate of a half-pound of fruit per gallon of beer, which contributes its own sugars and induces a secondary fermentation. When that process is complete, we gently dry hop with Waimea hops from New Zealand. The result is a beer that’s full of the essence of tropical fruit with moderate tartness, delicately grainy malt flavor, and a dry, fruity finish.

Cobra Toes - Kölsch - 4.6% ABV

A reverential take on a classic style made for easy drinking. Floor-malted German pilsner malt and a modest portion of wheat malt provide grainy, crackery flavors with mild sweetness. A cool-fermenting ale yeast strain produces subtle fruity fermentation aromas and leads to a medium-dry finish. German Tettnanger hops offer up fresh-bloomed floral aroma with a delicate minty spice. Understated, elegant, and smooth.

Blazing Crude - Coffee Milk Stout - 7.5% ABV

It’s not often that a beer this dark and full-bodied burns so bright. The method here is blending the exceptionally bright Tikur Anbessa - Ethiopia from Intelligentsia Coffee with notes of tangerine and pomegranate into the finished stout at a ratio of twelve parts beer to one part concentrated cold-brewed coffee. Nearly all of the espresso, chocolate, and roast character comes from grains--the coffee is actually decidedly upbeat. Then there are the two additions of sweet orange peel: one in the whirlpool and another via a hot steeped orange peel tea added to the brite tank. Premium British malts build a solid foundation, milk sugar provides a velvety mouthfeel, and Falconer’s Flight hops support the orange flavors from the peel and coffee.

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@cinderlandsbeer