New Brew News – February 27, 2017

Our Thoughts: Remember the Little Golden Book classic The Poky Little Puppy? Did you know that as of 2001, it was the single all time, best selling hardcover children's book in the US, having sold over 15 million copies? Remember Pokey, the talking orange pony and sidekick of everyone's favorite green clay humanoid Gumby? To learn the origin of their friendship, check out episode 6: Little Lost Pony. It'll make you think and might even bring a tear to your eye. Did you know pokey is a slang term for jail? Did you know Pokey is the name of a cactus-like enemy in the Mario Bros. video game series? Do any of these things have anything to do with this new crisp and clean lager from the hunks at 4 Hands? We HIGHLY doubt it. But if you want a great session beer to savor while you let your mind explore the possibilities, this is it.

Our Thoughts: Another new gem from 4 Hands this week is Typhon, a saison. 4 Hands is in familiar territory with this beer style, having already produced Pyrus, Hugo, Opus and a Late Harvest saison in bottles, plus other saison-style variants that were draft only. In Greek mythology, Typhon was a monstrous giant and the most deadly sea creature. He was described as terrible, lawless and outrageous and even fought with Zeus for rule over the cosmos! We're confident the beer will be just as prolific as Typhon himself.

Our Thoughts: Completing the trifecta this week, 4 Hands brings us Forbidden Fuzz, a beer that will get a lot of people talking. Forbidden Fuzz is an ale aged in bourbon barrels with peaches added. We're intrigued to see what the base beer style will be on this. An imperial stout would be amazing, but a barleywine would work just as well. We could even guess IPA, as 4 Hands has recently released Courage, an oak aged Triple IPA. The possibilities are endless! Regardless, we'll be checking social media constantly to find out when and where this will be tapped.

Our Thoughts: Poor King Midas. He loved gold so much he asked Dionyssus, the god of wine and revelry, to make everything he touched turn to gold. His dream turned into a nightmare and soon he regretted his wish. Dionyssus had pity on him and told him to go wash his hands in the river Pactolus and everything would be fixed. This experience cured his avarice and made him a better person. This new beer from Heavy Riff probably won't make you a better person, but it will provide delicious nourishment and gladden the heart. This Imperial Black IPA takes the normal golden hue of an IPA and turns it as black as our beer-soaked souls. Look for roasty, bitter chocolate notes interplaying with prominent citrus and piney hop flavors. Heavy Riff has the Midas touch, so we're psyched for this.