An early solstice beer, an oatmeal Hazy-o! and more
Winter was long considered a slow period in the beer world — that is, until the Bay Area’s SF Beer Week turned February into FE-BREW-ARY in 2009. COVID-19 nixed the celebration this year, but brewers guilds across the state pulled off a virtual CA Craft Beer Week, which comes to a close today. It’s not the same as the in-person celebration, of course, but it’s been fun nonetheless.
Now, we’re hoping for a summer of revived beer festivals and chances to socialize outdoors with friends and family. And until then, your best bets are strong, hearty beers to keep your insides warm, even if the outside world remains pretty chilly — or summery beers that let us pretend the seasons have already shifted.
Anderson Valley Brewing is hoping to nudge Mother Nature along in the warm-weather direction by releasing its seasonal Summer Solstice now, so you won’t have to wait for the solstice to drink the Solstice. The brewery’s “summer in a can” includes notes of vanilla, caramel, cream and light coffee for a quaffable, well-balanced beer.
Two well-known San Diego breweries, Alesmith and Stone Brewing, have just released a new collaboration beer, Dual Exposure. The new double IPA uses Citra, Strata, HBC 592 and Amarillo hops, and is loaded with citrus flavors and hibiscus, tropical mango and lime peel. The beer will only be around for a short time in four-packs or 16-ounce cans.
Dogfish Head just launched a distinctive beer, available nationwide, called Hazy-o! It’s a hazy IPA, as you might have gathered, but this one’s brewed with four types of oats — malted oats, rolled oats, naked oats and oat milk — and dry-hopped to bring out tropical citrus, mango and pineapple notes. Oats tend to impart a smooth mouthfeel in brewing but using oats in such quantity also adds sweetness and yields a flavor more akin to oat milk. So it may be more correct to call this beer an oat milk IPA. It’s available now in six-packs of bottles or cans.
And Dust Bowl Brewing Co. of Turlock and Monterey is releasing its first new beer this year, a California Golden Ale. Brewmaster Don Oliver describes the beer as a clean, easy-drinking beer, lightly fruity and not particularly bitter. It’s available now in six-packs of 12-ounce cans. At 4.5% alcohol by volume and 10 International Bitterness Units, it’s a great session beer and a good one for warmer weather.
Firestone Walker is celebrating its 25th anniversary with one of its first beers, DBA (Double Barrel Ale), made using a modified Burton Brewing system the brewery created and labeled with re-done heritage packaging. It’s also launching Brewmaster’s Reserve ($599), a beer club that will run in similar fashion to the way wine clubs operate.
Speaking of anniversaries, Anchor Brewery is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and has dramatically — and controversially — redesigned its packaging, which now features bold, colorful imagery. It’s designed to appeal to younger beer lovers and revitalize the iconic brand.
In-person beer events are still off the table, but Flagship February, which I launched three years ago with Canadian drinks writer Stephen Beaumont, is offering a new essay or Q&A each day, written by brewers and brewery owners to tell us the origin stories of their flagship beers. Read them throughout the month at flagshipfebruary.com, or go back and read them in one sitting — with, of course, a beer in hand.