New Brew News – October 30, 2017

Our Thoughts: With three IPA's in their current lineup, O'Fallon is no slouch in the hop arts. Their 5 Day IPA was once voted Best Beer in a readers poll in the Riverfront Times and lays claim to be the first locally brewed IPA in the St. Louis area. Their Show Me IPA is, in our humble opinion, fantastic. That's why we're excited to see O'Fallon up the ante with Cattywhompus, a monstrous imperial IPA clocking in at 10% ABV. O'Fallon doesn't do that many high gravity beers, so it will be nice to see what leaps out of the brew kettle with this new brew. Word is that this will be done in collaboration with HopCat, which is slated to open in the spring of 2018. While this beer might not be on the scene for a little while, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

Our Thoughts: The official cocktail of the city of Louisville, the Old Fashioned traces it's name back to 1881 but it's history goes all the way back to 1806. It was then defined as a drink consisting of spirits, bitters, water and sugar. Around 1930, the practice of using an orange slice or maraschino cherry as garnish (sometimes both) took hold.  While the recipe remains mainly the same today, many bartenders add curacao or other liqueurs, or substitute brandy, gin or rye whiskey in place of the classic bourbon recipe. Drawing inspiration from this national treasure, Crane has taken the Old Fashioned and put in a pint glass. Using an English style bitter ale as the base beer, they've added cherries and orange zest to basically recreate this timeless libation. Perfect for both the adventurous craft beer drinker and cocktail enthusiast alike, this sounds like another one of Crane's masterpieces. Bottoms up!

Our Thoughts: Founded by four beer lovers, Torn Label has been serving up adventurous and innovative beers to thirsty Kansas Citians since 2014. Their portfolio of brews boasts everything from crisp lagers and bold IPA's to full bodied stouts and Belgian inspired ales. Not ones to shy away from brewing whatever the heck they want, Torn Label are now unleashing The First Order, an imperial porter with cinnamon and vanilla beans. Perfect for ushering in the colder weather, this will be a delightful dessert beer to cap off a night spent with good friends and good beers. Look for this on draft in the Kansas City area soon.

Our Thoughts: One of the most exciting things in craft beer is collaborations. When awesome brewers, distillers and craft beer enthusiasts put their heads together to dial up some magic, surely goodness will follow.  It's even better when all parties involved are local breweries and distilleries. In this case, O'Fallon's Missouri Beer Company has teamed up with BeerSauce Shop, the St. Peters craft beer and BBQ sauce shop to bring us whalez, bro! Hot on the heels of their Blackberry Berliner Weisse flavor collaboration, they're taking it to a whole new level with this one. They will be blessing us with an imperial oatmeal milk stout aged in Columbia, Illinois' Stumpy's Spirits bourbon barrels. Everything about this beer just screams deliciousness. This will be available in 22 ounce bottles and undoubtedly be highly sought after, so watch social media for release details.