(Boston, MA) – The latest from The Boston Beer Company, courtesy of Wednesday’s newsletter…
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As we turn the page on another year of brewing, we’re excited to hit the ground running in 2013. Last month in the December newsletter, we announced this year’s spring variety pack will include Boston Lager, Alpine Spring, Irish Red, and a few new styles including Maple Pecan Porter (available exclusively in this pack) and two more new year-round styles, Double Agent IPL and White Lantern!
Our brewers have given the IPA a new identity, creating an India Pale Lager (IPL) – Double Agent IPL. Double Agent hits your palate with a citrusy hop character from the Citra and Cascade hops, and notes of grapefruit and orange with a hint of sweetness from Zeus hops. To round out this citrus character we also used some Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. The final result is a boldly hoppy and flavorful brew but with an unconventionally crisp and smooth lager finish.
With a combination of tangy citrus sweetness and a hint of peppery spice, White Lantern is perfect brew for white ale lovers. Enriched with a crisp wheat character, this hazy white ale gives you a refreshing brew that’s has just the right balance of citrus and spices (including Grains of Paradise and coriander).
Spring Thaw? We’re not even close to spring. All seasonals are being released earlier and earlier every year. Pretty soon we’ll have Oktoberfests being released instead of brewed in March.
Marketing by the bigger craft breweries are driving this. Not good.
A distributor in KY was already sending these to stores, including one that I happen to work at, in late December. Makes me wonder if there’s a such thing as “seasons” in the beer world anymore, because everyone seems to just wanna beat the competition to the punch, regardless of when the next release occurs.