Smuttynose Brewers Notes: December 2013

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Perfect Beer For Mud Season: DURTY!!!

Get Durty with Smuttynose this Mud Season!!

A big, hoppy, brown ale is just what you need to make it through the meteorological ups and downs of spring.

Durty, one of our most talked about Short Batch releases, graduates to fill a long-vacant spring slot in Smuttynose’s seasonal beer rotation.

Each bottle and pint features a delicious balance of carmelly brown ale malt flavors and the hop profile of a double IPA. Durty has enough oomph to get you through the frosty mornings and chilly nights, while the light body and hop flavor will awaken your tongue and senses for the coming

warm weather.

We’re also excited about Durty’s packaging. It’s our first beer with two distinct images. There’s no telling what the label mix will be in a six pack or twelve pack, but both images are featured on the six pack and twelve pack containers.

Durty will be shipping out throughout the month of January, but you can try it and buy it at our Holiday Open House on December 21. Stop by between 11am and 4pm at 225 Heritage Avenue in Portsmouth, our current and original home.

Durty Vital Stats
8.4% abv 97 IBU
Malts: North American 2-Row, Munich 10L, Chocolate, C-60, Brown Malt
Hops: Bittering-Magnum, Flavor- Nugget, Dry Hop- CTZ and Chinook
Yeast: White Labs WLP-001 American Ale

Available in six packs, twelve packs and cases of 12 ounce bottles as well as 5.2 gallon and 15.5 gallon kegs. Durty will be hitting markets throughout the month of January.

Holiday Open House

On December 21, we're opening the doors of our Heritage Avenue brewer for a holiday Open House. You can try Pure Biss, our culinary collaboration with Chef Jamie Bissonnette, and Durty, a hoppy brown ale (8.4%, 97.5 IBU), on tap, and bottles of both will be for sale. We'll be offering brewery tours, good humor and, if you ask nicely, impromptu Christmas carols. You're welcome to drop in from 11am-4pm. Our staff will merrily greet you!


This is one of two six pack designs for Durty

Yup, we're using both.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Lights, Camera, Action!

Christmas came early to our new brewery site in Hampton!

Our state-of-the-art brewhouse (see picture below) and bottling equipment has arrived from Europe and we begin unpacking it tomorrow. There are two reasons we're telling you this. First of all, we're really, really, incredibly excited that these vital pieces of equipment have finally arrived. The other reason is that we're ready for our close-up.

You can follow the unloading and installation process on our webcam from the comfort of your own home. Just direct your browser to http://www.towlefarm.com beginning tomorrow (12-10) and see the latest images from the production floor.

We don't know how Santa wrapped these presents in wood.

We hope you tune in and see how things are shaping up. Once the brewhouse is commissioned, we'll start brewing, so it shouldn't be too much longer! We estimate it'll be just two more months, including the German installation team's Christmas break, to get down to business.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Introducing Pure Biss, a Culinary Collaboration

Pure Biss, Smuttynose's third chef collaboration (and first Smuttlabs release) debuts this weekend at Sonny's Tavern in Dover.

This unconventional witbier gets its swerve from the contributions of Chef Jamie Bissonnette. Instead of the traditional coriander and orange peel, Jamie brought kaffir lime leaves, spruce tips and 25 pounds of grapefruit zest to the brewday. The rest of the ingredients are appropriate to the style.

How does it taste? You'll have to come see for yourself at Sonny's, or after December 9, when the beer begins shipping to wholesalers. Bottles will be available at Smuttynose, the weekend of December 13.

This is Biss

Chef Bissonnette has been widely recognized for his cuisine at Coppa, Toro and Eastern Standard in Boston, as well as winning "Chopped" on the Food Network. He has just opened a second Toro in New York, with business partner Ken Oringer. Coppa, Toro-Boston and Toro-Manhattan will all proudly feature Pure Biss bottles.

Pure Biss Vital Stats

5.4% abv 15 IBU

Malts: North American 2-Row, Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Flaked Oats
Hops: Bittering-Magnum, Flavor-Sterling
Yeast: White Labs WLP-400 Belgian Wit

Batch Size: 30 barrels, packaged in 5.2 gallon kegs and crown finished, 375ml bottles.

Upcoming Beer Releases

These dates show when we expect to release these beers at our Smerch Store. Shipments to our distribution partners will coincide with their order cycles, so you'll see new releases a little bit after the dates you see below.
Pumpkin Ale - August
Smuttlabs: Brett & I - Shipping Now!
Big Beer Series: Tripel (brand new release!) August 16
Smuttlabs: Schmutzig - August 23
Now and Then Series: Cluster's Last Stand - (Stone Collaboration) August 30
Winter Ale - October 15
Smuttlabs: Oak-Aged Tripel - TBD
Smuttlabs: Strawberry Short Weisse - Fall 2014
Smuttlabs: White IPA - TBD
Big Beer Series: S'muttonator (double bock) - November
Full Time: Baltic Porter - 12oz Four Pack, Fall 2014
Full Time: Really Old Brown Dog - 12oz Four Pack, Fall 2014
Durty (we promise to brew more) - December 13

The Smuttynose Big Beer Series

Since 1998, Smuttynose Brewing has offered its Big Beer Series, specialty beers released seasonally in very limited quantities. Although some styles appear every year, others get dropped or added to the lineup, or simply take a sabbatical for a year or two. Adding to the free-form nature of this series, our brewers are encouraged to tweak, change and experiment with recipes from one year to the next, so that one year's edition may be subtly or dramatically different from the next (or it may be exactly the same).

Since 2002, our Executive Brewer, David Yarrington, has contributed notes on each new edition of the Series, as well as on other seasonal beers, such as our Pumpkin Ale. Sometimes the notes are extensive; sometimes, if little or no changes have been made to the previous year's edition, they will be brief.

By the way, all Smuttynose Big Beers are bottle conditioned and will age quite nicely if stored properly. Starting in 2005, we've "vintage" dated our Big Beer labels to help you keep your cellar organized.

Smuttlabs

“How many things are we upon the brink of discovering if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries?” -Mary Shelley

We’re very proud of each of our Smuttynose beers, but our brewing staff has many ideas that can’t be done on a large scale; this is where Smuttlabs comes into play. From barrel-aging and beer souring to culinary collaborations and special projects that just don’t fit anywhere else, if a project is out of the ordinary, unique or time consuming, you can bet it’ll bear the Smuttlabs name.

In 2007, we began these experimental brewings, with a beer called “The Gnome” (which became Homunculus in the Big Beer Series), under the Short Batch Series name. As we’ve increased production and volumes of these eccentric beers, we’ve rechristened them “Smuttlabs,” to reflect the creative experimentation found in each batch.

Smuttlabs releases seek to bridge the gap between “rare” and “hard to find.” Brewing on these terms, success can take different forms. Some releases may have semi-regular production and others may never see a mash tun again. There will constantly be Smuttlabs beers in all phases of production from conception, to brewing and fermentation to aging and packaging.

We’ll announce Smuttlabs beers here on our blog, through social media as well as our website. We know you’ll have just as much fun seeking them out and drinking them as we do brewing them.

Smuttynose Brewers Notes