New Brew News – June 26, 2017

Our Thoughts: For IPA's, haze is the phrase that pays these days. Any beer that looks like extra pulpy orange juice and smells like Otto the School Bus Driver's jacket is more popular than avocado toast. These opaque wonders feature waves of tropical and citrus flavors with little hop bitterness. It's nice to see Crane step out on a limb and grace as with their version of this style, as they usually focus on the classics like Berliner Weiss, Saison and Lambic. We're definitely a fan of these type of beers and look forward to seeing how Crane stacks up.

Our Thoughts: Since 1870, the Griesedieck family has been serving thirsty St. Louisans quality beer. Tracing their brewing history all the way back to 1711, beer definitely runs in the family. In fact, at one time they were producing almost a million barrels a year and were a favorite of legendary baseball broadcaster Harry Caray. Currently run by 8th and 9th generation brewmasters and in the process of opening a brewpub, the Griesedieck name soldiers on in the quest for supplying our fair city with suds. We're excited to feature their new rye IPA, as it's a style we haven't seen from them, as they have focused on more traditional styles like pilsener, Bavarian wheat and mild ale. If you see this on tap around town, order a pint and raise it to one of St. Louis' founding families of beer.

Our Thoughts: We know it can be a polarizing subject amongst beer enthusiasts, but we don't mind these pumpkin beers coming out earlier and earlier each year. These tasty treats still astound the palate, no matter what the thermometer says. O'Fallon's pumpkin beer is a St. Louis staple, and is basically liquid pumpkin pie. Last year not only saw them add peach, vanilla and cinnamon to their classic fall offering but they took their imperial version and put it in Crown Royal barrels! Their newest venture is Pumpkin Bread, a Dunkelweizen brewed with pumpkin and spices. This is an interesting choice for the base beer, but with O'Fallon's pumpkin prowess strong, we are confident this will raise the bar even higher. We already can't wait for fall.

Our Thoughts: This gem wins the "Whale of the Week" award. Kansas City's Torn Label has teamed up with local distiller Tom's Town to bring us Rude Awakening, a barleywine aged in Tom's Town barrels. Barleywines tend to be big, boozy sippers with complex and aggressive flavors, so time in a barrel can temper the flavors and mellow it a bit while adding oak and vanilla flavors. Bottles of this won't last long, so keep your eyes glued to social media for release details.