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Brewing in brief: News you need to know from the craft beer world

Compiled by Krista Driscoll
kdriscoll@summitdaily.com
Snowcat Coffee Stout, a 5.9 percent ABV coffee stout, is available in a six-pack of 12-ounce cans.
Special to the Daily |

Sierra Nevada official beer of worlds

The 2015 World Championships Organizing Committee and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., official beer partner for the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, announced Start House Session Ale as the official beer of the upcoming event. The beer is being brewed exclusively for race fans.

Start House Session Ale will make its debut at a party on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Evergreen Lodge’s Altitude Bar & Grill in Vail from 5:30 to 7 p.m. An easy-drinking IPA, Start House Session Ale is light in body but big in whole-cone hop flavor with intense notes of pine, grapefruit and herbal hop aromas.



“After a day on the mountain, you want something refreshing but not at the expense of flavor, and Start House strikes that balance,” said Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman. “We think folks at the championships will enjoy the big hop character, and we’re excited to talk beer and skiing with them at our Winter Beer Camp.”

The party will allow 2015 fans to be among the first in the world to taste this specially crafted beer before it is made available daily during the championships at the Winter Beer Camp. Open from 4 to 9 p.m. each day of the World Championships, Winter Beer Camp will feature a number of Sierra Nevada brews, including some rare ones like the just-launched Nooner Pilsner and forthcoming Beer Camp Hoppy Lager.



To celebrate the Championships, Start House Session Ale will be poured only in Vail and Beaver Creek during the event and will not be available anywhere else. Winter Beer Camp participants are encouraged to come early for guaranteed samples of this and the company’s other hard-to-find, limited-release offerings.

Learn more about Sierra Nevada at http://www.sierranevada.com. For information on the championships, visit http://www.vailbeavercreek2015.com.

Crazy Mountain releases its Snowcat Coffee Stout

Crazy Mountain Brewing Co. in Edwards recently released its winter seasonal Snowcat Coffee Stout. The beer is a 5.9 percent ABV coffee stout available in a six-pack of 12-ounce cans. This is one of the few coffee stouts ever to be released in cans in the United States.

“This winter seasonal style is an ode to our local Vail/Beaver Creek snowcat drivers — ‘The Midnight Marauders’ — who flatten snow in the wee hours, as they ascend without fear into the darkness, living in a world of powder,” said Kevin Selvy, CEO and brewmaster.

Crazy Mountain teamed up with Vail Mountain Coffee & Tea Co. to take artisanal roasted coffee and brew it into a stout made from a complex blend of roasted malts. Crazy Mountain uses real ground coffee beans during the brewing process, infusing the beer with a small amount of caffeine to give a quick energy boost.

Snowcat Coffee Stout six-packs can be purchased statewide with national distribution scheduled in the next few weeks. For information on Crazy Mountain or the newly released can styles, call (970) 926-3009 or email drink@crazymountainbrewery.com.

Full Sail Brewing Releases Session IPA

The IPA style of beer is insanely popular, but sometimes it feels like there’s a hops arms race going on, said Irene Firmat, Full Sail Brewing Co. CEO and founder. For this reason, Full Sail came up with Session IPA, a “premium pale ale” that’s not too hoppy, not too bitter and not too malty — just right.

“When Session Premium Lager was launched 10 years ago, it quickly became the hottest selling new craft beer brand on the market,” Firmat said. “Neither micro, macro nor import, yet a little bit of each, Session rewrote the rules on how to launch a distinctive new brand that appeals to a wide cross section of beer drinkers.”

Given Session’s immense appeal, the brewery has expanded its year-round lineup to include Session IPA, available in 12-packs, 6-packs and on draft, at 5.1 percent alcohol by volume and 47 International Bittering Units. Session IPA was awarded a silver medal at the 2014 World Beer Championships.

For more information on the beer and where to find it, visit http://www.fullsailbrewing.com.

Odell, Leopold partner on Fernet Aged Porter

This month, Odell Brewing will release the second edition of its Fernet Aged Porter, a rich imperial porter aged in retired Leopold Bros. Fernet barrels.

Fernet is a dark, minty liqueur made with herbs and spices and aged in oak barrels. Leopold Bros. has crafted its own unique recipe, which includes lavender, honeysuckle, ginger root, bitter aloe, dandelion root, rose petals, chamomile and peppermint.

“Our Fernet is the most bitter type of amaro (Italian word for bitter) that is prepared by steeping various botanicals, with a large proportion of bitter roots, in spirit,” said distiller Todd Leopold. “So far as we are aware, it is the first of its kind produced in America since well before Prohibition.”

Fernet Aged Porter is offered in 750 milliliter, cork-and-cage bottles throughout the brewery’s 11 state distribution area. For information, including a beer-finder app to locate places that carry this beer, visit http://odellbrewing.com.


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