New Beer Friday, Hop Pre-Order Edition (February 16)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

We have exciting news for anyone looking to establish or expand a hop garden this spring. This year the folks at Sandy Ridge Farms in Zeeland, Michigan, will once again be supplying us with established hop plants as opposed to the hop rhizomes we have offered in the past. According to the growers at Sandy Ridge, the advantages to purchasing established hop plants versus rhizomes are three-fold:

1. An established plant eliminates the risk of questionable viability as often found with rhizomes. It is typically recommended to plant more than one rhizome per pot/hole which increases costs.
2. An established plant with a developed root system and mature top growth will produce larger yields in the first 2 years than a planted rhizome.
3. Hop plants are susceptible to virus and disease out in the hop yard. A rhizome from an infected plant will produce another infected plant. Plants are obtained from the National Clean Plant Network at Washington State University where they are virus/viroid tested prior to being shipped. Sandy Ridge Farms has a strict protocol in place regarding clean plants and preventative pest-management. A healthy plant produces more hop cones.

We will be taking hop plant pre-orders now through the end of business on Thursday, March 22. Those wishing to place orders may do so via email (steve@sicilianosmkt.com), by phone (616-453-9674) or in person here at Siciliano's. When ordering by email please ensure that you indicate the desired quantity of the specified variety. Price per plant is $8.59 and payment will not be due until the time of pickup.

We anticipate that the hops plants will be available for pickup by the end of May. Those placing orders will be personally notified when the shipment arrives. Go here to see a full list of the hop plants being offered. Please note that this list includes Hallertau m.f. but they are not available this year.

Sandy Ridge Farms

New and Returning Beer

• New Holland Passion Blaster, $1.99/12oz - "Passion Fruit, Tropical Peaks. Rosy Ale, Blush as Raspberry Cheeks. Exotic notes excite your tongue, the satisfying adventure has just begun" (source).
• Brewery Vivant Love Shadow, $7.19/16 - "Bourbon Barrel Aged Plow Horse Imperial Stout" (source).
• Schramm's Mead Blackberry, $46.39/750ml - "Schramm's Blackberry Mead is made with raw, unfiltered honey and whole blackberries. It is an intensely fruity, medium sweet melomel with vanilla and cinnamon aromatics. This hand-crafted beverage pairs well with creamy cheeses, duck, veal and good company. Serve at cellar temperature or lightly chilled" (source).
• Upland Cherry, $24.99/750ml - "When we started experimenting with Belgian-style sour ales back in 2006, we immediately knew we wanted to add cherries to our program. We get over 4,500 lbs of red, tart Montmorency cherries each year from King Orchards in northern Michigan. We add the cherries to the mildly tart sour ale base and let it ferment for three more months before kegging and bottling, giving this barrel-aged fruited sour ale the distinct cherry characteristics. The beer pours with rich hues of red and pink foam, with zesty effervescence. Tart cherries dominate the aroma, with hints of wine and cider, and the finish is dry, with lingering cherry fruitiness" (source).
• Upland Prim, $9.29/500ml - "Sometimes a name says it all. Prim was inspired by blending the names of the two main ingredients, plum and cardamom. This sour ale uses Basis as the base beer, adding whole plums to capture the sweet fruit flavor and tartness of the skins, and the incredibly aromatic cardamom. Prim is aged in wine barrels for 4-6 months, further intensifying the complex flavors of this brew. It’s tart, fruity, herbaceous, and very refreshing" (source).
• Upland Crimson, $13.99/500ml - "Crimson, formerly released as Malefactor, is an American take on a Belgian Flanders-style Red Ale. Upland’s twist on this classic brewing style is aging the beer for eight months in previously used bourbon barrels rather than white oak, which contributes to a slightly higher ABV than most Upland sours, clocking in at 10%. Crimson pours a dark copper beer with hues of red and amber. Long fermentation reveals aromas of plum, red wine and cherry. The bourbon barrels add subtle notes of charred dark oak to this medium-bodied sour ale. Crimson finishes dry with notes of tanginess" (source).
• Upland Oak And White, $13.99/500ml - "Our relationship with Bloomington-based Oliver Winery continues in this bottle of Oak & White. Ten years ago, we traded beer for barrels from the winery to create our first batches of sour beer. Today, we still age many of our sours-such as this one-on previously used, neutral, Oliver oak wine barrels. This blend of base sour blonde ale aged in Traminette grapes from Oliver’s Creekbend Vineyard creates tart flavors reminiscent of a dry white wine. Beer and wine drinkers alike will love this creation" (source).
• Upland Peach, $24.99/750ml - "We first began experimenting with Belgian-style ales in 2006, and fresh, whole peaches were selected as one of the first fruits to add to the sour beer that we had fermented for over eight months in white oak barrels. We use 7,000 pounds of fresh Indiana peaches from Huber’s Orchard and Winery in Starlight, Indiana, destoning the peach pits by hand before adding to the barrels. Peach is a fruited ale with gold and straw colors that shine upon pouring, and zesty amounts of carbonation. Fresh peach aromas meld with floral and wine-like notes. Wonderful peach flavors follow in the taste, accompanied by refreshing tartness with a dry finish and mouth-watering tanginess" (source).
• Short's Batch 8000, $17.39/22oz - "Batch 8000 is a Quadruple IPA with raspberry brewed in celebration of the 8,000th batch of beer brewed at the Short’s Brewing Production Facility in Elk Rapids. Pale amber in color, this beer carries scents of dank berries and tropical fruit. Slightly sweet to start it is quickly balanced by the tart raspberry and pungent hops. Intense citrusy dank hops coat the drinkers’ mouth balancing the high alcohol content. Powerful, intense, and boozy, Batch 8000 is the perfect sipper to share" (source).
• Odd Side Dank Frank, $2.79/12oz - "Imperial version of Dirty Dank Juice. Hazy NE style IPA" (source).
• Left Hand Chai Milk Stout Nitro, $2.89/16oz - "Super smooth Milk Stout Nitro with aromatic spices" (source).
• Dogfish Head Wood-Aged Bitches Brew, $3.89 - "The Bitches is back, only this time we aged it our oak and Palo tanks! An off-centered twist on our classic Bitches Brew, Wood-Aged Bitches Brew is still the same bold, dark, Imperial Stout you know and love" (source).
• Darkhorse Barrel Aged Scotty Karate, $6.19/12oz - "If the original Scotty Karate wasn’t enough for you, check out what happens when we age it in bourbon barrels for a while. We brew this big bold scotch ale with cherry wood smoked malt instead of the traditional peat smoked malt offering up warm notes of coffee, caramel and sweet caramelized brown sugar. We then age it in bourbon barrels for several months to pick up some mellow vanilla and oak notes to bring you a mature, quite refined Scotty Karate" (source).
• Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Blackberry Porter, $4.59/12oz - "This is a big and dark beer with bold flavors to ease you into spring. Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Blackberry Porter has been brewed with the official state fruit of Kentucky and aged in bourbon barrels. This spring seasonal comes out with the bold roasted malt flavors complemented by a nose of fresh blackberries" (source).
• Flensburger Pils, $2.89/11.2oz - "Ingredients: Water, barley malt, hop extract" (source).
• Flensburger Dunkel, $2.89/11.2oz - "The dark site of pleasure. Fine bitter, fresh and rich in taste. Thanks to dark superior malt that provides the amber colour and the elegant smoothness" (source).
• Flensburger Weizen, $2.89/11.2oz - "Brewed with the finest wheat and barley malt. Full-bodied and tangy" (source).

Video of the Week | Wood-Aged Bitches Brew

Now available at Siciliano's!

Cheers!