Angel’s Share release Saturday – and other new stuff

Port Brewing In San Marcos, California, will release the 2008 Bourbon Barrel-Aged version of Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share on Saturday. This first bottled release of the highly coveted beer.

Expect a line by the time the doors open at 10 a.m., so the brewery has set some ground rules:

– Bottles will be $15 per cork finished 375ml bottle.
– Limit of 12 bottles per person.
– Beer will be sold only at the brewery. No email orders or holds for pick up at a later date.
– There are approximately 120 cases available. Once it is gone, it is gone.

Details.

– Be on the lookout for Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale some time this month. The Georgia brewery is celebrating get the doors open for its new brewery by creating a “Side Project” series to be sold in 22-ounce bottles. From the press release

2008 will forever be known in professional brewing circles as the year of the hop shortage. Brewers everywhere are scrambling to find hops just to produce their standard line of beers. Some brewers are so nervous, they are even cutting back on brewing hoppy beers. “Not us,” states John Cochran, Founder & President of Terrapin Beer Co. “If there is going to be a shortage of hops, why not put them all into one hop bomb of a beer?”

Look for a new “Side Project” beer every few months.

Mendocino Brewing has released its Limited Edition Spring Seasonal Bock Beer. A press release describes the beer as “golden hued lager . . . created to celebrate the coming of Spring and the start of a year that is replete with the promise of things to come.”

Anheuser-Busch has a new spring release and is making a beer previously sold regionally available across the country. Sun Dog Amber Wheat is the spring release, replacing Spring Heat Spiced Wheat. That beer became redundant when A-B rolled out Shock Top Belgian White on a full-time basis.

“Wheat beers are one of my favorite styles to brew because of their versatility. From Bavarian to Belgian to American, each style has its own color, aroma and taste,” Florian Kuplent, brewmaster, said for a company press release. “Our take on the American amber wheat ale is a luminous deep amber color with a slight caramel sweetness and refreshing citrus note.”

Previously available in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, Wild Blue Blueberry Lager now will be sold nationally. The beer was created by Blue Dawg Brewing – a group within Anheuser-Busch.

“We’re focusing our efforts on getting Wild Blue in adults’ hands at local food and film festivals and even fun events like pet parades, where dog lovers can get to know Wild Blue, with its feisty bulldog label,” said Jeff Pierson, innovation manager, Wild Blue. “We aren’t taking this beer down the traditional path. Wild Blue is going places we haven’t been before and we know having the beer at places where adults like to get together, socialize and try new things will be key.”