The Buzz: Siciliano's Market News & Notes: New Beer Friday, Todd Hale Edition (October 9)

This year's champion
with the Siciliano Cup

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

On Saturday, September 19, the Best of Show winner of the 2015 Siciliano's Home Brew Competition brewed his winning recipe on Pigeon Hill Brewery's 3.5-barrel system.

Todd Hale's award-winning American IPA will be available on draught at the brewery on Saturday, October 17, at 2 p.m.

If you have yet to visit Pigeon Hill's beautiful taproom this would be a great time to travel to downtown Muskegon, Michigan, to give Todd's Equinox IPA a try and enjoy a pint or two of the brewery's other excellent offerings from its extensive tap list.

I would like to thank the folks at Pigeon Hill for giving Todd this wonderful opportunity and for their continued support of the Michigan home brewing community.

New and Returning Beer

Dark Horse 4 Elf Winter Warmber, $2.19/12oz - "4 Elf is holiday cheer in liquid form. Spicy aromas like cinnamon and clove give this dark brown winter warmer a proper holiday welcome. Balanced between malt, hops, and spice at 8.75% ABV this beer goes great with all holiday foods—from sweet snacks to the roast beast" (source).
Founders Dark Penance, $3.09/12oz - "A heavy malt foundation includes Crystal malt for sweetness and just enough Midnight Wheat malt to push the color to black. The bitterness is huge, but balanced by malt sweetness. The hop flavors and aromas range from citrus to floral to pine thanks to a delicious blend of hand-selected Chinook and Centennial hops" (source).
Founders Harvest Ale, $3.49/12oz - "This liquid dream pours a hazy golden straw color with a white, two-finger head. Your first sip rewards you with a super juicy hop presence bursting with fresh citrus, then finishes to introduce toasted malt undertones" (source).
Stone Enjoy By, $8.29/22oz - "This exquisite liquid patchwork of more than a dozen hops is a devastatingly fresh double IPA. Freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, hoppy IPAs – but we've taken it further, a lot further, with this one. We brewed this IPA specifically NOT to last. We've gone to extensive lengths to ensure you get your hands on this beer within an extraordinarily short window, and we've sent a very clear message in the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right NOW to enjoy this IPA" (source).
Bourbon Barrel Aged Arcadia Shipwreck Porter, $8.59/12oz - "" (source).
Oddside Fig Brewton, $2.29/12oz - "English pale ale brewed with figs" (source).
Wyerbacher Althea, $9.59/750ml - "Althea is a Belgian-style Dubbel brewed with plums, bottle conditioned in a 750 ml/25.4 oz. cork and cage bottle, which weighs in at a substantial 7.7% ABV. It’s a beautiful, dark and fruity ale" (source).
Stone 8.8.8. Vertical Epic, 9/49/22oz - "In 2008, Stone Brewmasters Steve Wagner and Mitch Steele traveled to Belgium, where they enjoyed a number of hop-driven Belgian tripels, pale ales and IPAs—beers that had taken a cue from the U.S. craft brewing movement and inspired us in return. It’s a big reason 2008’s summer season came to be known at Stone as our “Summer of the Triple.” Upon their return, they crafted Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale, the seventh beer in the 11-beer Stone Vertical Epic Ale series. Packed with floral, spicy essence from Belgian yeast plus plenty of hoppy New World character, it’s our West Coast take on hop-driven Belgian beers" (source).