New Beer Friday, Too Busy for a Preamble Edition (June 13)

Editor's Note: The boss has been exceptionally busy this week preparing for and attending events related the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference, going on now in downtown Grand Rapids. So, instead of his usual New Beer Friday preamble, he sent me the following email laying out the reasons why no preamble was coming.

Chris,

Needless to say it's been a busy week:

• I had a radio interview Monday morning at WGVU about the National Homebrewers Conference
• Tuesday evening Barb and I were at Graydon's Crossing for the Siciliano's Best of Show tapping
• Wednesday afternoon found us setting up and manning our booth at the conference (see photo); Wednesday evening we were at Perrin for the Beer City Brown tasting and Ron Pattinson presentation
• Thursday morning I had a 5:30 a.m. television interview, then worked for a few hours at the store before heading back to the conference to work the booth and attend seminars

Unfortunately, I'm not going to have time to do a preamble for New Beer Friday. Perhaps you can write a few words about the above and incorporate the Wood TV 8 clip. Just a thought.

Pop

No problem, Pop. I'll think of something.

New and Returning Beers

• Stone Collective Distortion IPA, $9.09/22oz (limit 1/person) - "An epic double IPA infused with elderberries and coriander" (source).
• Short's Cerveza De Julie, $1.49/12oz - "Cerveza De Julie is a pale yellow Mexican Lager brewed with real lime. Delicate yeasty aromas gather quickly from the ample amount of carbonation in this lighter bodied beer style. Soft grain sweetness enhanced by unobtrusive lime qualities bring out a subtle snappy tartness, which turns mildly bitter before a crisp refreshing finish" (source).
• Short's Prolonged Enjoyment, $1.79/12oz - "Prolonged Enjoyment has a huge earthy hop fragrance of green grass, pine, and citrus fruit. The sweet, malty flavors are met quickly by zesty American hop characteristics. This India Pale Ale has a light body but is packed with extraordinary bitterness. Bitter qualities linger briefly, before the mildly dry finish takes over" (source).
• Aecht Schlenkerla Double Bock, $5.39/17oz - "While for the classic 'Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier' traditionally beech has been - and still is - used, the malt for Schlenkerla Oak Smoke is kilned with Oak wood. The resulting Schlenkerla Oak Smoke Malt has a smoother and more multi layered smoky note than the intensely aromatic Beech Smoke Malt. The hence complex smokiness in the Schlenkerla Oak Smoke is paired with the multifaceted bitterness of finest Hallertau aroma hops. With 8% alcohol and amber color it matures for months in the deep brewery cellars underneath Bamberg into a special treat for smoke beer lovers" (source).
• Duckstein Weizen, $2.89/17oz - Commercial description not available (yet) in English.
• Duckstein Original, $2.89/17oz - "A unique style of beer making revived from a fifteenth century tradition gives Duckstein Original its distinctive taste.  At 4.9% ABV this top-fermented speciality beer is matured in beechwood and is the perfect accompaniment to a wide range of foods" (source).
• Samichlaus Helles, $19.39/22oz - "Samichlaus is brewed once a year on December 6, and is aged for 10 months before bottling. It is one of the rarest specialties in the world. Samichlaus may be aged in the bottle for many years to come, as older vintages become more complex. Brilliant deep amber, complex dry toasted malt nose and huge intensely sweet palate" (source).
• Kasteelbrouwerij Ter Dolen Kriek, $4.69/12oz - "This unfiltered top-fermented beer with an alcohol volume of 4.5% to which fresh cherry juice is added, is made from one type of wheat and  malt and two kinds of hops with addition of spices like coriander and orange peel. It is a sweet fruit beer with a lemon flavour without denying the real beer taste" (source).
• Hof Ten Dormaal Zure Van Til Dansk, $14.7912oz - "Zure Van Tildonk is an original Belgian Sour Ale from Farm-Brewery Hof Ten Dormaal. With this beer, the brewery strived to create a special, spontaneoussly-fermented beer via traditional methods using ambient yeast from the brewery-farm in Tildonk. Each batch of Zure van Tildonk is carefully aged in the cellars of Engelburch Monastery for several months prior to release" (source).

Video of the Week | Steve on Wood TV 8 

Cheers!