What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.13
‘Tis the season for some winter warmers – beers released around Christmas time for sipping over the cold months ahead.
A few of these beers might satisfy your Christmas cookie cravings; they have hints of oatmeal and nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger, others are toasty and dark with a bit of smokiness. However, most are simply well-made ales with rich malty flavors and enough alcohol to warm you up. There are quite a few winners here – I hate to remind you (and myself), but winter is just beginning, and a few of these beers might help us make it through the long winter ahead.
Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale: Not too long ago, we asked fans to suggest ingredients for a new limited winter release that would best fit the season. After lots of great suggestions and tastings with fans, Gingerbread Spiced Ale came out on top. With tastes of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, it’s clear why they chose this wintery brew.
5.9% ABV, 16 IBUs
Samuel Adams Winter Lager: German brewers may have been on to something centuries ago when they created bold, rich bock beers for the winter. For our beer, we brewed a dark wheat bock subtly spiced with fresh ground cinnamon, ginger & orange peel for a deep, smooth flavor and malty finish that will warm you on a cold winter’s night.
5.6% ABV, 22 IBUs, 25 SRM
Samuel Adams White Christmas: As crisp as the first snowfall of the year, this unfiltered white ale is blended with holiday spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel. The familiar citrus and wheat characters of the ale are complemented by the warmth of the spices for a festive brew that’s perfect for the season.
5.8% ABV, 8 IBUs, 6 SRM
Samuel Adams Merry Maker: This rich dark gingerbread stout entices with the aromas of the holidays. The flavor of gingerbread comes alive, beginning with the smooth sweetness and heartiness of dark roasted malts and a touch of wheat. But it’s the intensity and spices of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, & ginger that add a wicked kick for a jolly playful brew full of merry mischief
9.0% ABV, 25 IBUs, 75 SRM
Summit Winter Ale: One taste and it’s easy to see why the Brits call this style Winter Warmer. Nutty, roasted malt flavor with hints of coffee, caramel, cocoa and a dash of hop spice.
6.5% ABV, 40 IBUs, 54 SRM
Fargo Brewing Company Roustabout Oatmeal Milk Stout (winter seasonal): This Oatmeal Milk Stout pours a beautiful, creamy black with a thick tan head that lasts in the glass. The aroma is filled with and milk chocolate character. The body is smooth and rich, with very low bitterness and a subtle sweetness from milk sugar. The flavor is dominated by chocolate and coffee notes, the beer finishes smooth, sweet, and satisfying.
6.3% ABV, 22 IBUs
Lagunitas Brown Shugga’: Our winter seasonal that falls into the realm of “Dangerously Slammable”, this brew is especially irresponsible. Brown Shugga…How come you taste so good?
9.9% ABV, IBU 51
Schell Snowstorm 2015 Wallonian-Style Brown Ale: The Snowstorm of 2015 draws inspiration from the artisanal and experimental traditions of the Wallonian brewers to create a malt focused brown ale with hints of nut, biscuit and stone fruit
6.2% ABV
Schell Chimney Sweep Schwarzbier: Schell’s Chimney Sweep is dark and mysterious, with an intriguing wisp of smoke. A chimney sweep has long been considered a source of good luck. Schell’s Chimney Sweep draws inspiration from these lucky individuals and the rich dark lagers of Upper Franconia in Germany. A black lager with a roasty maltiness, sturdy hop bitterness and an underlying subtle smokiness.
5.2% ABV, 31 IBUs, SRM 48
Empyrean Winter Axis FestivÀle: Hoppy Holidays return in the 2015 version of FestivÀle! An English-style IPA, it’s smooth with flavors of biscuit upfront paired with a balanced hop bite in the finish.
6.8% ABV, 62 IBUs
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Online Weekly Newsletter Vol. 12
We’re very excited to announce the release of Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ Sweet Release 4/6pks…
Brown Shugga, a seasonal brew from Lagunitas, was created in 1997 as the result of an attempt to rescue a failed batch of Olde GnarlyWine Ale by adding “boatloads of brown sugar”—or so the story goes, anyway. It was a hit and they’ve made it every year since with only one exception (the moving year). Lagunitas, then in the process of building a new brew house, realized that they didn’t have the facilities to brew both their regular beers and Brown Shugga (which requires more time to make than the others). In its place they released an excellent IPA that they named Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale, with an apology for not brewing Brown Shugga printed on every bottle: Lagunitas Sucks was so popular it’s now a year-round beer.
Brown Shugga – it’s less sweet than you’d expect, smooth and biscuity-tasting with a subtle brown sugar flavor and piney hops that kick in with a bitterness that intensifies for two or three seconds before starting to fade. When the beer is cold the hop bitterness is the dominant flavor, but it mellows out as it warms up, letting the malts come through more.
Watch the Virtual Tasting from Lagunitas: Press Play Button
According to the bottle: “We believe this Special Ale is Something Unique. Feeding Brown Cane Sugar to otherwise Cultured Brewery Yeast is a’kin to feeding Raw Shark to your Gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without Human Intervention. And it looks weird besides. But it has happened and now it’s too Late.”
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol. 11
FINNEGANS, the first ever beer company to donate 100 percent of its profits, added a brand new beer to its roster last summer , Dead Irish Poet now comes to life every October – January.
The Dead Irish Poet extra stout was crafted, brewed and packaged thanks to the incredible support of 260 backers in a Kickstarter campaign held last summer. FINNEGANS worked closely with Damian McConn, head brewer of Summit Brewing Company to create the new brew. The extra stout has a rich body and bold flavor, with hints of dark chocolate, espresso and cherries. Inspired by the history of McConn’s homeland, the extra stout is a throwback to pre-World War I beer from Southern Ireland.
Holding true to its name, the Dead Irish Poet has higher alcohol content of 7 percent and a smooth yet brooding, dark taste. The stout pays homage to great Irish writers like James Joyce, William Butler Yeats and Oscar Wilde.
The Dead Irish Poet is available on tap and a part of the Saintly Sampler Pack: a 12-pack containing 6 Dead Irish Poets, 3 Irish Ambers and 3 Blonde Ales. Perfect for holiday parties and autumn bonfires, there’s something for everyone in the Saintly Sampler Pack.
“The flavor profile on this beer is out of this world,” says Jacquie Berglund, the rambunctious FINNEGANS CEO. “I am not a stout drinker, but I love this beer. It’s a stout that any beer drinker will love, especially at this time of year. And it’s only available for a limited time so beer drinkers and FINNEGANS supporters have got to get their hands on it before it’s gone.”
It’s a great time of year to meet the Dead Irish Poet and drink your favorite of the FINNEGANS beers. November 1 through December 31 FINNEGANS loyal distribution partners match all sales profit donations in the company’s annual Drink Like You Care campaign.
FINNEGANS has donated over half a million dollars over the past 14 years and continues to find innovative and inspiring ways to give back. For more information on the Dead Irish Poet and FINNEGANS visit www.finnegans.org.
Available in the Saintly Sampler 12 Pack and Limited draught 1/6bbl & 1/2bbl
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Weekly Online Newsletter Vol.10
The fall weather has arrived and flavors of cinnamon, ginger, all-spice and nutmeg continue to run through my thoughts – Thankfully, it’s not too late for pumpkin beers. One of my favorite beers to marry with these flavors in our autumn food is Jack’O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy.
Jack’O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy embodies the darker side of Shandy complete with a perfect balance of real pumpkin and everyone’s favorite autumn spices. This wheat beer is brewed with fresh pumpkin so you know you’re in for a real treat. Try some today – taste and embrace the fall season.
Malt Varieties: 2-row malted barley, malted wheat
Hop Varieties: Hallertau Hallertau
Special Ingredients: Real pumpkin
Alcohol: 4.4% ABV
IBUs: 7
Driven by an obsessive love of high jinks, the Jack-O Traveler spent his days cooking up mischief for everyone who crossed his path. One of his favorite pranks involved tricking unsuspecting bar patrons into buying him beers and then skipping out just when it was his turn to buy a round.
So clever was Jack, he even scammed the devil himself into granting him a reprieve from hell. Unfortunately for our Traveler, when his shenanigans finally caught up with him and he died, the man upstairs wanted nothing to do with Jack either.
It’s said that after Jack was barred from heaven, the devil gave him a burning coal, which he promptly put into a carved pumpkin to light his way. Legend has it that he wanders the earth to this day, searching for innocent bystanders to hoodwink into buying him his favorite beer, a pumpkin Shandy.
Jack-O Traveler is an alluring wheat beer illuminated by the tastes of fall. He strikes a perfect balance between bright refreshment and seasonal spice. Jack is brewed with fresh pumpkin, for a delicious dark-hued, Shandy-inspired beer.
Available in package and on draught 1/6bbl & 1/2bbl
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!
What’s Brewing Bergseth Bros.
Online Weekly Newsletter Vol.9
We’ve seen the tremendous success of Not Your Father’s Root Beer in recent months within Bergseth Bros. territory. It’s quite astonishing how fast this brand has grown locally and on the national level. We’re very excited to announce the addition of Not Your Father’s Root Beer on draught and in cans!! Keith Bergseth, General Manager of Bergseth Bros. stated, “In less than a year NYFRB bottles has become one of the top selling SKUs. To support the success of this brand, new line extensions have been offered. Not Your Father’s Root Beer Draught and Cans are an excellent addition to this family.”
Not Your Father’s Root Beer is the result of ambitious creativity, a rich family brewing heritage, and tireless commitment to premium American Craftsmanship. After Tim Kovac and his son experimented with brewing as a hobby for several years, Tim formally committed to the craft in 2010 by opening Small Town Brewery in Wauconda, IL. His brewing focus developed as he unearthed his unique family brewing history which dates back to his great grandfather – an English ship captain – in the 1600′s. Utilizing his ancestors brewing practices – which included fruit-based recipes consisting of specific herbs, flowers, and various fruits versus hops – has inspired Tim’s passion for deriving innovative offerings, such as Not Your Father’s Root Beer, from modern brewing’s heritage and underpinnings.
Not Your Father’s Root Beer is a category-defining Ale brewed with unique spices. An unrivaled evolution of timeless American root beer in taste and color. Not Your Father’s Root Beer, 5.9% ABV, has earned a “World Class” rating of 98 on Beeradvocate. Brewer Tim Kovac’s creativity and painstaking commitment to flavor complexity result in an unmistakable offering that masterfully blend hints of sassafras bark, wintergreen, anise and vanilla. A smooth and balanced ale. Not Your Father’s Root Beer has a broad appeal from discerning craft beer drinkers to non-beer drinkers.
Watch the Video Below To Discover the Tradition of
Small Town Brewery with Brewmaster Tim Kovac
Not Your Father’s Root Beer Now Available On Draught and In Cans!
Also Coming Soon Not Your Father’s Ginger Ale, sometime late November.
Please check with your sales person on availability and pricing (please note some products are not available in certain markets)
CHEERS!