Cluster's Last Stand Update- Release Now September 6

Hello Beer Drinkers,

This is just a quick note to let you know we've pushed back the Towle Farm Cluster's Last Stand release one week to Saturday, September 6 shipments to wholesalers will begin on Monday, September 8

We would have liked to stick to the schedule, but there was a delay printing the labels and we can not bottle without labels! Stay tuned to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for pictures of bottling,: because seeing beer being packaged is almost as fun drinking it, but not really.  

We hope you all have a safe and happy holiday weekend. We'll be open our regular hours Saturday, Sunday and Monday, if you need a beer on your I-95 travels or cookouts.

Cheers!

Cluster's Rides Again September 1!

Just over a year ago, Smuttynose collaborated with Stone Brewing Co. to brew a beer called Cluster's Last Stand. Inspired by Mitch Steele's comprehensive book on India Pale Ale, this recreation of the original Ballantine IPA recipe was brewed for research purposes and so we could put to use a beer name we'd been sitting on for over five years. Luckily, Mitch, Greg Koch and Steve Wagner; the Stone brain trust, were on board for a 30 barrel batch.

Not very many folks got to drink Cluster's Last Stand, but a lot of people sure wanted to. Our email inbox and social media channels were full of messages from people far and wide who wanted to get this old school hoppiness in their beer glasses. We were certainly game to brew more Cluster's, but we simply didn't have the capacity at Heritage Ave. Now that we're up and running in our new home at Towle Farm, we called Team Stone for their second thumbs and we began taking pre-orders.

After doing some math, we scheduled 7 batches in order to make the 540 barrels of beer we needed. That's the equivalent of almost 100,000 22oz bottles in this limited edition re-brew. We will be splitting the batch into both 22-ounce bottles and kegs, so you can enjoy a pint at your favorite bar or restaurant, as well as in the comfort of your own home. Bottles will first release at our Towle Farm Smerch store for $9 each, with wholesaler orders rolling out shortly after.

Cluster's Last Stand Stats

8.8% abv 62 IBU
Malts: North American 2-Row, Flaked Maize, Munich 10L, C-60
Hops: Bittering- Cluster, Flavor- Brewer's Gold and East Kent Golding, Dry Hop-Bullion
Yeast: American ale yeast
Production: 540 barrels packaged in 22 ounce bottles, 5.2 gallon kegs and 15.5 gallon kegs.

Distribution: CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, Germany, IL, IN, Italy, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, Puerto Rico, RI, SC, South Korea, TN, United Kingdom, VA, VT, WI

Smuttlabs: Schmutzig debuts August 23

The Smuttlabs train is really starting to roll! Our next release, Schmutzig, will be available in the Smerch Store at the Towle Farm brewery at 10am, Saturday, August 23rd. Schmutzig (6% abv) showcases the interplay between hefeweizen yeast and Sterling and Crystal hops. It's hoppy like an IPA, but firmly grounded in Bavaria, thanks to its hefeweizen roots. If you can't quite imagine what that's like, you've just given yourself a great reason to come and try it for yourself! The 375ml bottles are $6 each and we have 50 cases for sale at the brewery. There will also be sample tasters.

Shipments to all our markets, including 77 cases of bottles, begin on Monday, August 25. We brewed 100 barrels of Schmutzig, (our largest Smuttlabs release to date) which means it'll get farther out into the world than say Brett & I or Hugs 'n Rainbows, but it is still pretty limited. Stay tuned to social media for all our latest updates.

We'll see you at the Farm!

Schmutzig Stats

15 IBU, 6% abv
Malts: North American 2-Row, Wheat Malt, Munich 10L
Hops: Bittering- Magnum, Flavoring- Sterling, Dry Hop- Crystal
Yeast: Hefeweizen
Production: 100 barrels
Distribution: CA, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI

Big Beer Series: Tripel releases 8/16

As we look for inspiration for new Big Beers, the tendency has always drifted towards the next thing or an unusual ingredient. One style we had never done, which makes it seem like we overlooked something kind of obvious for 20 years, was the Belgian tripel. If you've had some of the classics of the style, then you know what to expect.

The golden color is misleading, causing the new tripel drinker to expect something subtle, if not downright benign, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Sweet, round and full of fruity esters from our distinctive Belgian-style yeast strain, Smuttynose Tripel is a perfect for sipping but also highly versatile at the table, pairing well with anything from salads and fish, to richly spiced entrees.

We'll be releasing 22-ounce bottles of Tripel for $6 at Smuttynose on August, 16 at 11am and shipments will begin that Monday, August 18.

See you at the Farm!

Smuttynose Tripel Stats

8.2% abv 25 IBU 19° Plato
Malts: North American 2-Row, Aromatic, Wheat, Carapils
Hops: Sterling
Other Ingredients: Clear Belgian-style candi syrup
Yeast: Trappist Ale Yeast

T for Tennessee!

 Thank you, Tennessee!  We're happy to be within your friendly confines!

Beginning tomorrow, July 1, beer drinkers in a nine county area radiating from Chattanooga will be able enjoy Smuttynose beers wherever craft beer is sold.  We've signed on with Carter Distributing, who will now distribute Smuttynose beer throughout Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.  

Tony Giannasi, Carter's Craft Brands Manager has set-up a great string of roll-out events that will feature some combination of Smuttynose's year round beers; Finestkind IPA, Old Brown Dog, Shoals Pale Ale, Bouncy House IPA, Vunderbar Pilsner and Robust Porter, as well as current seasonal release, Summer Weizen.  Big Beer Series releases will be coming to Carter in the near future. 

In the meantime, please come out and join us for a Smuttynose; you'll be glad you did!

7/1 Heaven and Ale “Beer of the Month” kickoff with six beers on tap, plus glassware
      and prize giveaways; for the rest of the month, there will be three Smuttynose beers on tap.
7/2 Tremont Tavern tasting with glassware giveaways
7/8 Meet The Founder at Heaven and Ale with prize giveaways
7/10 Brewhaus tasting and glassware giveaway
7/18 Riverside Beverage growler fill specials
7/25 Sigler’s Craft Beer and Cigars Tap Takeover
8/1 Sturmhaus Pint Night
8/8 Universal Joint Tap Takeover

Untappd users, don't forget that you can earn an exclusive Bouncy House IPA badge when you check in our new session IPA during the month of July!

Hey Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, Are Your Ready to Bounce?

Bouncy House rollouts are starting later this week!  Here are the first accounts pouring pints and selling six packs of our new, 4.3%, session IPA.  If you come out for a beer, please say hello and introduce yourself. 

Otherwise, follow @SmuttyBoston on Twitter or Smuttynose Boston on Facebook. These channels keep the news flowing for MA, CT and RI.

Masschusetts

May 7    -Pour Farm Tavern, New Bedford, 7pm-9pm

May 13  -Julio’s, Westborough, 5pm-7pm                

May 15  -Provisions, Northampton, 5pm-7pm

              -Ball Square Fine Wines, Somerville, 5pm-7pm

              -Kappy’s, Medford, 5pm-7pm

May 16  -Wine and Beer at the Andovers, Lawrence, 4pm-6pm

              -Whole Foods, Hadley, 4pm-6pm

              -Spirited, Pittsfield, 4pm-6pm

              -Vinnin Square Liquors, Swampscott, 5pm-7pm

              -Kappy’s Liquors, Peabody, 5pm-7pm

              -Depot Liquors, Beverly, 5pm-7pm

              -Kappy’s Liquors, Danvers, 5pm-7pm

              -Craft Beer Cellar, Medford, 5pm-7pm

              -Yankee Spirits, Sturbridge, 5pm-7pm

              -Atlas Liquors, Quincy, 5pm-7pm

              -Blanchards, Allston, 5pm-7pm

              -Macy’s, West Roxbury, 5pm-7pm

May 17  -Domaney’s Liquors, Great Barrington, 12pm-3pm

               -Kappy’s Twin City, Fitchburg, 1pm-3pm

               -Eastgate Liquors, North Reading, 3pm-5pm

               -Gulu-Gulu Café, Salem, 4pm-7pm

               -Whole Foods, Cambridge, 5pm-7pm

May 19  -Marty’s, Newton, 4pm-7pm

May 21  -Northampton Brewery, Northampton, 7pm-10pm

May 22  -Meadhall, Cambridge 7pm-10pm

           

May 23  -Merchants Liquor, Danvers, 5pm-7pm

               -Downtown Wine and Spirits, Somerville, 5pm-7pm

               -Table and Vine, West Springfield, 5pm-7pm

               -Austin Liquors, Shrewsbury, 5pm-7pm

               -Gordon’s Main St., Waltham, 5pm-7pm

               -Martignetti’s, Brighton, 5pm-7pm

              

May 27  -Blanchard’s, Jamaica Plain, 5pm-7pm

May 28   -Colonial Spirits, Acton, 5pm-7pm

May 29  - Bogie’s Liquors, Salem, 7pm-9pm

               -Whole Foods, Dedham, 7pm-9pm

Rhode Island

May 15  -Brown Graduate Center Bar, Providence, 7pm-9pm

Connecticut

May 14  -Eli Cannon’s, Middletown, 7pm-10pm

May 16  -Liquor Cabinet, East Granby, 5pm-7pm

               -New England Beverage, Orange, 5pm-7pm

May 22  -Classic Liquors, New Milford, 5pm-7pm

May 23  -Manchester Wine, Manchester, 5pm-7pm

May 30  -Fairgrounds, Danbury, 5pm-7pm

              -Harvest, West Hartford, 5pm-7pm

              -Wines and More, Milford, 5pm-7pm

Kick Off Your Shoes for a Session with Bouncy House IPA!

Today, April 7, is Session Beer Day, a day to celebrate the growing ranks of beers that are full-flavored but low in alcohol. This celebratory day is part of Lew Bryson's Session Beer Project, which can really fill you in all things low-in-alcohol. Session Beer Day also provides us the perfect opportunity to show-and-tell our upcoming year-round release, Bouncy House IPA!

At Smuttynose, we see Bouncy House IPA as an important addition to our year-round releases, like Finestkind IPA and Old Brown Dog. It's an IPA with a simple yet perfectly-honed malt bill and a beguiling combination of Magnum, Calypso and Saphir hops. Sure, this new beer is dry-hopped to the point that you'll have a beer foam nose (instead of a milk moustache) from sniffing its beguiling aromas, but the best part is that it's just 4.3%. That's right; you can enjoy all the delicious hopping of an IPA, without a high alcohol content clouding up your world view.

We've previously brewed two pilot batches of Bouncy House, with a third about to hit the market in the next week or two. David Yarrington and our production team are so confident they've got the recipe perfected that we expect to brew the first full batches at the new brewery this week. Our sales team are finalizing roll-out events for the month of May (including SAVOR, the premier beer and food pairing event in Washington DC), but we expect to have it in all our markets by Memorial Day, just in time for your celebrations.

We're very excited about the Bouncy House beer, but it wouldn't be a new Smuttynose beer without fun, distinctive packaging.  Below are pre-print images of the six pack, twelve pack, bottle labels (yup there are more than one) and tap marker.  We shot the photos inside a real bouncy house!

Please enjoy the images below and stay tuned for updates on the roll-outs.  In the meantime, get ready to get your bounce on!

Smuttynose Beer Release Update, 4/1/14

Just a quick update on our release schedule for the year. Despite the date of this posting, this is all very true, very real information. You can tell because it's not really funny to begin with. There have been a few schedule changes that are the result of a few delays in the commissioning of our new brewing equipment at the new Towle Farm brewery.

We'll have a blog post with a Towle Farm update later this week. In the meantime, here is the new calendar. 

A few Big Beers got rearranged. 

-Frankenlager was pushed back about two weeks as it took us a bit longer to get the new brewhouse up and running, which is important because this lager was decoction-mashed. The decoction process takes more time, but is well worth it for Frankenlager for two reasons. 1) It adds a better range of flavors and 2) after years of very manual, somewhat imprecise decoction mashing at Heritage Avenue, our new brewhouse enables us to hit all the volumes and temperatures any beer requires.  Very cool.







-We swapped Tripel and Farmhouse Ale in the release order.  With all the extra time requirements
on our staff (planning for the new brewery's public opening, launching Bouncy House IPA in May, getting production up and running at the new brewery), this made a lot of sense for a lot different reasons, not the least of which is that we've brewed Farmhouse Ale before so, we know how it will be brewed and we have labels for it.

-Rhye IPA was removed from the Big Beer Series because of all the other changes in the release schedule.  While we don't have plans to announce at this moment, it will be back in the future. 

Last but not least, we've got some fun Smuttlabs surprises in the works and we're about to begin bottling the first beers on the new bottling line. so stay tuned to this blog and our social media for updates!

2014 Smuttynose Release Calendar

Here's how our year is going to go, except for Smuttlabs releases, opening a new brewery, a new website and any other fun surprises that might come up.

2014: The Year for NHBeer!

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.