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GABF, LIBERTINE, LANGOLA WET HOP, HEFEWHEATIES, COLLAB WITH NOLA BREWING, AND MORE...-
Posted Thursday September 24, 2015

HEFEWHEATIES HITS RETAIL NEXT WEEK!

HefeWheaties

Looking to take some HefeWheaties home? Next week is your week. Starting on Monday, our very limited run of HefeWheaties (if you haven't heard of HefeWheaties yet, first go herethen consider getting out more) hits liquor store shelves in the greater metro area.

Due to the overwhelming demand we've had for HefeWheaties, there won't be enough to go around. Most liquor stores will run out quickly. We won't have a list of which stores gets the beer on which days, so it may require a combination of persistence and luck to acquire some. Godspeed.

LANGOLA WET HOP RETURNS...AND SO DOES LIBERTINE!

Fulton Brewing's Libertine

Starting tomorrow (Friday, 9/25) in our taproom, Langola Wet Hop will be back for only the second time ever. We brew Langola with fresh Cascade hops that we harvest from our very own hop farm in Langola Township, which is near Rice, which is near St. Cloud, which is...you get the idea. As soon as the picking is finished, we drive the hops back to Minneapolis and brew the same day, meaning they hit the kettle within a few hours of being picked, depending on how bad traffic on 94 is. The taproom release will be a special Friday 9/25. As with last year, it is available on draft only, no bottles or growlers.

Fresh on the heels of Langola will be the return of The Libertine. Not many people know that Libertine dates back to one of our earliest homebrew recipes -- our very first, in fact. We had no idea that years later, we'd have a brewery of our own, and that Libertine would be one of our most coveted seasonals. Now, we find ourselves counting down the days every year, not for summer to end but for Libertine to return with the fall season. Libertine will be available at our taproom in 12 oz pours and in growlers to go starting on Wednesday, 9/30, and in early October you'll be able to find it around our entire distribution territory on draft and in 4 packs of 12 oz bottles.

GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL

It's America's biggest beer festival and most prestigious beer judging competition and somehow, we've never been there -- until this year. Held every September in Denver, CO, GABF features well over 1,000 breweries pouring samples for tens of thousands of beer enthusiasts. If you happen to be attending, be sure to swing by our booth.

If you're not attending GABF but happen to be in Denver, not to worry: we have plans for you, too. We've teamed up with Denver Beer Co. for "Collaboration Celebration", a Friday afternoon festival at DBC's taproom, featuring five unique collaborations. Check out their event page for more info.

MESSIPI: ONE NEW COLLABORATION, BREWED 2 WAYS

NOLA Brewing

Earlier this year, we made some new friends at NOLA Brewing of New Orleans. Our cities are separated by over a thousand miles (and degrees, on some days) but joined by the Mississippi River. Our shared natural resource inspired us to collaborate to brew an amber saison, done 2 distinct ways: the first, a "clean" version, representing the Mississippi's cleaner Minnesota waters, and a second, "funky" version aged with brettanomyces in oak barrels as the New Orleans version. The beer is named Messipi, a nod to the early French interpretation of the Algonquin word for "great river."

As the case almost always is with collaborations, both versions of Messipi are available in limited quantities. It will be available on draft and in 750mL bottles in mid-late October.

ON THE RADAR: BARREL-AGED EXPAT & MAITRISE

BAE&BAM750

Those who have visited either of our breweries recently may have noticed steadily growing stacks of oak barrels. These barrels are busily aging some of our most unique beers, developing them in new and groundbreaking directions. After months of waiting, testing (yeah, tough job, we know...), and waiting some more, we are just about ready to bottle two of them for the first time.

First up will be The Expat aged in red wine barrels. After a few months in the barrels, the rye-driven Expat is subtly overlaid with rustic oak character, and punctuated by punchy red wine notes. If you haven't managed to persuade your wine snob friends to cross over to the beer world, this may be the beer to do it with. You'll get your chance in mid-October.

The standard version of our Maitrise is known for its Sauvignon Blanc-esque character that results from heavy additions of Nelson Sauvin hops. So, for the barrel-aged version, we doubled (or tripled?) down and aged the Maitrise in Sauvignon Blanc barrels, then finished the aging process with a secondary dry hopping by adding even more Nelson Sauvin to the barrels. It's a combination that has to be tasted to be believed, and it will also be a great substitute for white wine at your Thanksgiving feast this year.