New Beer Friday, Raw Apple Cider Edition (Sept 22)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

September is apple harvesting time here in West Michigan and that means there will soon be plenty of fresh juice available for beer and winemaking hobbyists looking to whip up a batch or two of hard cider.

This year two local cideries will be selling fresh juice on two separate Saturdays in the parking lot behind Siciliano's. We will be selling both Klein's and Vander Mill's cider for $3.50 per gallon. Please bring your own containers or feel free to purchase containers from us. Dates and times for the cider days at Siciliano's Market are as follows:

• Klein Cider Mill, Saturday, October 7. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Vander Mill Cider, Saturday, November 4. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Go here for a good article on the process of making hard cider.

New and Returning Beer

• Brewery Vivant Velvet Stud, $3.49/16oz - "Full-bodied stout with a kiss of oak from its brief time in the barrel" (source).
• Grimm Sumi Cacao, $11.99/22oz - "Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla and cacao" (source).
• Mahr's Hell Lager, $5.79/500ml - "The beer that most people who come to Mahr’s love best is the basic Hell, a light-golden lager. A Hell, or Hellesbier, is a Bavarian specialty, not to be confused with the omnipresent Pils that nearly every brewery, from the far North to the Alpine South, has on offer. The Helles bier is squarely focused on malt – rich, sweet, Munich malt with an impossibly fresh new-mown hay flavor — and doesn’t have a whole lot to do with hops. (There are hops in there, but you don’t taste them much.) This is a deep and faceted beer, but not a challenging one. It is welcoming, satifying, and perfectly refreshing. The stuff in the bottle (which is unpasteurized, keeping flavor alive) will transport you straight to Germany. This Hell is pure heaven" (source).
• Pohjala Banger, $5.99/12oz - "A banging Imperial Stout brewed with prunes, vanilla and Habanero chillies" (source).
• Greenbush He Bee GB, $1.99/12oz - "English Pale Ale" (source).
• Odd Side Dank Frank, $2.59/12oz - "Imperial version of Dirty Dank Juice. Hazy NE style IPA" (source).
• Odd Side P.O.G., $2.19/12oz - "Passion fruit. Orange juice. Guava" (source).
• Odd Side Nut Bandit, $2.69/12oz - "Imperial Brown Ale with Hazelnut" (source).
• Alaskan Mocha Milk Stout, $8.99/22oz - "Inspired by the coffee culture of the Pacific Northwest,this sweet stout has an added chocolaty creaminess. Sweet Stouts have lactose added to provide residual sweetness and body because beer yeasts cannot ferment lactose. The cacao nibs added to this beer bring a hint of chocolate. The Guatemalan Huehuetenango was chosen for its mellow and earthy roast character" (source).
• Bells Hell Hath No Fury, $2.79/12oz - "Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury … Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Brewed with Belgian abbey-style yeast, Hell Hath No Fury … Ale is more akin to a roasty stout, offering warm, roasted notes of coffee & dark chocolate with fruity and clove-like aromas" (source).
• Bells Third Coast Old Ale, $2.79/12oz - "Third Coast Old Ale starts with a rich, caramel base, and finishes with a heavy hop bitterness. Sharply intense at first, it will age gracefully, adding complexity and subtlety in your cellar. Go ahead, test your patience" (source).
• North Peak Anniversary Barley Wine, $10.69/22oz - "American-style barleywine, brewed with lots of Michigan malts & hops" (source).
• Saugatuck Stout Variety Pack, $19.69/12pk - "It’s good to be stout with the new Saugatuck Brewing Company Stout Pack! 3 bottles each of Beam Me Up Stouty, Darker Than Your Soul Stout, Neapolitan Milk Stout, and Blueberry Maple Stout" (source).
• Great Divide Oatmeal Yeti, $10.79/22oz - "Much like its legendary predecessors, this Yeti is big, bold and dark.  The addition of rolled oats softens Yeti’s notoriously roasty backbone and the small amount of raisins added in the brew kettle create a unique dark fruit character.  Just as admired as those that came before it, Oatmeal Yeti Imperial Stout is a gentle beast" (source).
• Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale, $2.59/12oz - "Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale is our take on a classic American style of beer. We took a cold-conditioned cream ale, brewed with a hint of flaked corn and bourbon vanilla beans, and aged it in freshly decanted bourbon barrels for a minimum of two months. Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale's medium body and 5.5% ABV make it the perfect barrel-aged beer for an all day event" (source).
• Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, $3.49/12oz - "Our Kentucky Ale® is aged for up to six weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries. Subtle yet familiar flavors of vanilla and oak are imparted to this special ale as it rests in the charred barrels. Pleasantly smooth and robust, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale may also be served as an aperitif or after-dinner drink. Launched in 2006, it has grown to become the flagship beer of the premier name in barrel-aged beers: Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company" (source).
• Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout, $3.79/12oz - "Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout® builds on the success of its barrel-aged brother, the beloved Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale®. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout is brewed and aged with Alltech® Café Citadelle Haitian coffee and aged in world-famous Kentucky bourbon barrels. The result is a complex stout with dark-roasted malts, hints of caramel and vanilla and a lightly roasted coffee finish" (source).
• Nowhere in Particular Peachy Pants, $2.69/12oz - "It just wouldn't seem like summer without seeing people walking around in goofy colored pants. In deference of this time honored and strange tradition we decided to make a nice funky and sour peach beer. The use of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus invite a gentle pucker with a nice complex aroma. Come grab one of these bangin cans and enjoy it during a picnic or on a yacht or where ever it is that people wear peach pants" (source).
• Shorts Barrel Aged Black Cherry Porter, $10.99/22oz - "Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Cherry Porter is Short’s Black Cherry Porter aged in bourbon barrels for 9 months. This Short’s brew is fermented with Northern Michigan sweet black cherries and eight different malts. Combined, the ingredients provide the deep radiant flavor profile and create the dark opaque color. A slight purple lace from the fruit puree enticingly leads into smooth soft hints of roasted chocolate and pleasurable black cherry and bourbon flavors" (source).
• Victory Storm King, $2.59/12oz - "A thundering hop presence collides with massive espresso and dark chocolate flavors in our dense and full-bodied imperial" (source).
• Boulevard Barrel Aged Stout, $3.99/12oz - "Like India Pale Ale, the classic Imperial Stouts were originally brewed with high levels of alcohol and hops to withstand the rigors of a long sea journey, not to India but to Imperial Russia and the Baltic States. Our version is an over-the-top riff on the style, with a huge grain bill featuring several kinds of malted barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. Robust grain and coffee flavors are counterbalanced by date and plum notes from the Scottish yeast. To add extra complexity and depth, this Imperial Stout is made up of a blend of freshly brewed beer and several barrel-aged beers, carefully balanced" (source).
• Boulevard Collaboration Number 7, $3.99/12oz - "Built on a base of two-row pale malt, Sonoran White Wheat, honey malt and corn grits, Collaboration No. 7 – Oak-Aged Lager showcases Riesling grape juice, peaches and lemon zest in a crisp lager hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Lemondrop and Hallertau Blancs. Following fermentation with the Ayinger lager strain, Collaboration No. 7 was briefly aged on Cuvee No. 5 Tank Staves, French oak staves that impart fruit, spice, toast and tannins similar to aging in a fresh/virgin French oak barrel" (source).
• Avery Ginger Sour, $13.79/22oz - "Verdant fresh ginger is artfully rooted in radiant tartness, peaking in the unmistakable burst and bite of this bright barrel-aged sour ale" (source).
• Lagunitas Sakitumi, $9.29/32oz - "Ale Punched with Sake Yeast and Rice" (source).
• Clown Shoes Pecan Porter, $11.79/22oz - "The sun begins to set in Mongolia. Genghis Pecan leads a group of wild turkeys with blindfolded juggling skills as he maneuvers atop a barrel floating down a river. Why? Who knows, but he’s not smuggling hobbits. This year’s version of Pecan Pie Porter might be the most impressive yet, at 10.5% ABV and aged in 100% bourbon barrels" (source).

Video of the Week | Hops!

Coming soon to a pint glass near you.

Cheers!