New Beer Saturday, Polar Vortex Edition (February 2)

"Hey Steve, you bring any KBS to Florida with you?"
(Photo courtesy US Fish & Wildlife.)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

“How’s it going down there?” Siciliano’s GM Sarah Derylo asked during a phone conversation a few weeks ago.

“Fine,” I replied. “Big thunderstorm rolling through. Our power is out.”

“Getting a little excitement, huh?”

“Yeah, like I need more excitement.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“Barb got into a bar fight last night,” I told her. “She actually held her own. I was quite proud of her.”

I was fibbing of course. While Barb and I have had a drink or two in one or two Fort Meyers Beach bars over the last four weeks, the chances of my wife getting into a bar fight are about as remote as me being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a New Beer Friday preamble.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that Barb and I are spending an inordinate amount of time hanging out in southwest Florida watering holes. We’ve been doing a ton of walking, sometimes as much as fifteen thousand steps a day, and we’ve taken trips to the Naples Zoo, some nature preserves and a park where you can rent kayaks and have up close encounters with manatees. One of those big, placid “sea cows” swam right underneath our kayak. Pretty cool!

Barb and I have also been closely monitoring the weather back home and our hearts go out to our friends, relatives and customers who have dealt with the drifting snow, hazardous roads and sub-zero temperatures this past week. Thankfully it appears that things are finally improving.

Stay warm and stay safe everyone!

New and Returning Beer

• Central State Lazer Raptor, $4.09/16oz - "Once thought to be extinct, Lazer Raptor is a gose style beer brewed with cranberries, limes, sea salt, and fermented with our unique yeast blend" (source).
• Central State Polyjuice Potion, $2.99/12oz - "Brewed with our friends from Emporium Chicago, this collaborative ale is for wizards & muggles who solemnly swear they are up to no good. A sour brew concocted with plums, elderberries, and magical bits and bobbles" (source).
• Left Hand Hard Wired Nitro, $2.39/16oz - "Innately predisposed to be smooth when Poured Hard, this nitro coffee porter builds a pillowy, toffee-sweet head. Coffee and flavors of caramelized sugar, cacao and hints of blueberry lead to a light, smoky finish" (source).
• Odd Side Jared's Mom, $2.39/12oz - "Love Belgian IPAs? So does Jarod’s Mom. Nelson Sauvin hops are the highlight in this IPA" (source).
• Odd Side Mosaic Dank, $2.39/12oz - "100% Mosaic hopped version of our New England IPA. Aromas of tangerine, grapefruit, and berries give way to a smooth, hazy beer with citrus flavors with a hint of pine" (source).
• Oskar Blues Can-O-Bliss, $1.79/12oz - "A hopped up, tropical-fruit-packed island experience. A rogue wave of kiwi, papaya, pineapple, mango and citrus flavor crashes into a jungle of Mosaic, Azacca, Galaxy, Eldorado, and Idaho 7 hops to create a tropical paradise" (source).
• Oskar Blues Guns ‘n’ Rosé, $1.79/12oz - "A 6% ABV ale brewed with hibiscus and prickly pear" (source).
• Perrin Fiesta, $12.69/22oz - "Take a swing at this barrel aged coffee cake stout. A full-body, robust stout with a balance of malts and spices. Each sip filled with hints of cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, and coffee" (source).
• Prairie Okie, $12.69/12oz - "Okie is an imperial brown ale aged in whiskey barrels. Notes of toffee and brown sugar are infused with sweet notes of bourbon, vanilla, oak, and molasses" (source).
• Sam Adams Cold Snap, $1.79/12oz - "The crisp character of this lively unfiltered White Ale gets a kick from a bright blend of spring spices. Orange peel and plum add subtle sweetness, while coriander contributes a peppery bite, creating a refreshing flavor that signals spring is on its way" (source).
• Saugatuck Bourbon Barrel Blueberry Maple, $5.39/12oz - "We took our Blueberry Maple Stout and kicked it up a few notches for this release by amping up the ABV to 9.5% and aging it in bourbon barrels for 10 months. This aging process perfectly adds in a hint of vanilla and bourbony good-ness to this already unique and incredible brew" (source).
• Short's Woodmaster, $2.59/12oz - "Woodmaster is a high gravity, American Brown Ale fermented with Northern Michigan maple syrup and toasted pecans. This dark brown, full bodied ale is rich with sweet malt and syrup flavors. These flavors are complemented by the presence of hop aromas and a faint nuttiness" (source).
• Stone Grapefruit Slam, $3.19/12oz - "We’ve made a hell of a lot of beers since 1996. Probably thousands at this point. Some stick around for decades, somefor a few years and some are brief visits, gracing us with their hoppy presence fora short time before becoming fond memories. Occasionally stars, planets and brewing schedules align and we bring back one of these ephemeral creations. In fallof 2014 we created a draft-only version of this delicious double India pale ale. Its bitter, zesty grapefruit peel infusion created a bright accent to flavors of pine resin and fresh citrus well in advance of the explosionof fruited beers we’re all reveling in atthe moment. We never stopped thinking about it, so a long five years later, we’re bringing back Stone Grapefruit Slam IPA for round two. It’s a link to the past planted delightfully in the present" (source).

Video of the Week | Stone Brewing 2019

Find a wide selection of Stone beers at Siciliano's.

Cheers!