New Beer Friday - October 5 Edition

Chris & Max brew a test batch
in Chris' garage, winter of last year.

By Chris Siciliano

Good news, Grand Rapids beer fans. Before the month is out, yet another craft brewery will be opening its doors in Beer City, USA. That's right, The Mitten Brewing Company recently secured all necessary licenses and are planning to serve up their first pint on October 25, 2012.

The Buzz staff would like to congratulate Mitten Brewing co-owners Max Trierweiler and Chris Andrus. We wish them nothing but luck and I for one sincerely hope and expect great things from them and their beer, and their pizza. No doubt it will all be good.

Keep up on the latest news from The Mitten Brewing Co. by following their Facebook page and by bookmarking their website. We'll also be sure to pass along any updates we hear. In the meantime, here's a few other new and tasty beers for you to try.

New (and Returning) Beer

• Left hand Wake Up Dead Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, $6.69/22oz - "Wake Up Dead hibernates in our cellars for over 12 months before being blended to woody perfection. Hints of raisins, cherry, licorice and toffee, followed by earthy, herbal hop notes that rise up, joining in your fight for a better life" (source).
• Epic Brewing Fermentation without Representation Pumpkin Porter, $13.19/22oz - "An Imperial Pumpkin Porter to celebrate the season" (source).
• Epic Brewing Bad Baptist Russian Imperial, $12.09/22oz - It’s Big, it’s Bad, Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, with Coffee and Cocoa Nibs" (source).
• Ommegang Scythe and Sickle, $2.79/12 - "Scythe & Sickle Harvest Ale is brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye. Scythe and sickle is a seasonal brew that celebrates the richness of the grain harvest. Brewed with barley, wheat, oats and – in a nod to traditional upstate New York grains – rye, this fine ale is malty and creamy on the palate. The flavors of the grains and earth shine through. Enjoy the refreshment of the season and joys of fine brewing" (source).
• Brooklyn Brewing Post Road Pumpkin, $1.69/12oz - "Early American colonialists, seeking natural ingredients for brewing ales, turned to pumpkins, which were plentiful, flavorful and nutritious. Blended with barley malt, pumpkins became a commonly used beer ingredient. Post Road Pumpkin Ale brings back this tasty tradition. Hundreds of pounds of pumpkins are blended into the mash of each batch, creating a beer with an orange amber color, warm pumpkin aroma, biscuity malt center, and crisp finish" (source).
• Brooklyn Brewing Oktoberfest, $1.69/12oz - "Brooklyn Oktoberfest was introduced in 2000. It is true to the original German style, full-bodied and malty, with a bready aroma and light, brisk hop bitterness" (source).
• Shorts Kind Ale, $1.99/12oz - "Short’s Harvest Ale, a seasonal beer made each fall to celebrate a successful growing season. True to tradition, we commemorate the earth’s agricultural environment by using freshly picked hops to “wet hop” this brew. Straight from the fields on LeelanauPeninsula to our kettle, local hops impart a mellow earthiness to this ale that lead to moderate bitter tones and a subtle sweetness in the finish" (source).
• Capital Brewing Autumnal Fire Dopplebock, $2.89/12oz - "A blazing rich beer, this is a doppelbock based on an Oktoberfest personality. Warm and intriguing, the perfect "Brandy Snifter" beer. Available September and October" (source).

Picture of the Week

Kati & Sarah posing with pumpkin beers

Cheers!