Left Hand Brewing Releases Spring Seasonal Variety

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

LONGMONT, CO • February 13, 2017 – The start of the new beer year is here! Left Hand Brewing Co.is releasing a variety of seasonal and limited releases for the late winter / spring season, including cans, bottles, and 22oz offerings. From coffee to wildflower honey, the spring mix of beers will bring something for everyone. 

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

Hard Wired Nitro - Following a hard pour and rippling cascade, Hard Wired Nitro is your favorite cup of coffee with a pillowy, toffee-sweet head. Coffee and flavors of caramelized sugar, cacao and hints of blueberry lead to a light, smoky finish. Seasonal release: FEB – APR

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

Well Played – Left Hand’s new Red IPA plays up experimental hops and specialty malts to compose a beer that is sweet up front with robust hop character and a dry finish. The ever changing hop blend will be selected by the Left Hand team each year following the hop harvest. First sips of this year’s release brewed with 2017 Experiment Hop #09326 will leave the drinker thinking well played, indeed. Seasonal release: FEB – APR 

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

Saison au Miel – Les Quatres Saisons, Left Hand’s quarterly Saison series debuts this March with Saison au Miel. Brewed with native Colorado ingredients, each beer in the collection will highlight a unique addition. Saison au Miel features wildflower honey to bring a touch of sweetness to soften the dry and crisp farmhouse-style ale.  Available in 16oz four packs for two perfect servings at a time. Seasonal Release: MAR - MAY

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

Travelin’ Light – Golden, crisp & refreshing... and just in time for the warm months ahead! Travelin’ Light is a Kölsch style ale to be available year round as a new perennial. At 4.8% abv, Travelin’ Light is perfect for mellow days and a thirst-quencher for the sunshine. Year Round, starting March.  

Courtesy of Left Hand Brewing Co

About Left Hand Brewing Company

Employee Owned, Righteously Independent. Celebrating twenty-three years of brewing a well-balanced portfolio of craft beers, Left Hand Brewing Company is located at 1265 Boston Avenue in Longmont, Colorado. Left Hand is one of the most honored and recognized breweries in the state, with over 28 Great American Beer Festival medals, 11 World Beer Cup awards, and 9 European Beer Star awards. Famous for their Nitro series, Left Hand Brewing established America’s original Nitro bottle with their popular Milk Stout Nitro. Left Hand’s collection of perennial and seasonal beers are available in 40 states & DC. Distribution:  AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY. International: GBR, IRL, CZ, DEU, SWE, NOR, CAN, JPN   

Angry Orchard Taps Into Seasonal Flavors With Release of New Cider: Angry Orchard Tapped Maple

Courtesy of Angry Orchard

New seasonal cider is not-too-sweet, made with a touch of Vermont maple syrup

 
WALDEN, NEW YORK – Today, the cider makers at Angry Orchard announced the national release of its new seasonal hard cider Angry Orchard Tapped Maple, available now through April. Tapped Maple blends American culinary apples with a hint of maple syrup from Vermont maple trees for a not-too-sweet cider with a big, bright apple taste.

Because cider making follows a seasonal path alongside apple trees and harvest, cider makers are especially tuned into the seasons. At Angry Orchard’s Cider House in the Hudson Valley of New York, the cider makers like to play around with adding seasonal ingredients to cider recipes to create unexpected, but seasonally appropriate, flavor combinations. For example, with Angry Orchard Tapped Maple, they took inspiration from the highly-anticipated late-winter tapping of maple trees to make something completely new. The base cider is made from culinary apple juice and is actually quite dry. The maple syrup – rich in flavor and natural maple sweetness – adds a delicate balance, and gives the cider a strong maple-forward aroma, and full, round mouthfeel. It’s a great flavor profile for the last days of winter leading into spring’s cool start.

“Like apples, not all maple syrup is created equal. The flavors can vary significantly from season to season and depending on production techniques,” said Ryan Burk, Head Cider Maker at Angry Orchard. “My team and I visited maple farmers from across the Northeast to dive deeper into the qualities that make maple syrup unique, then took those findings back to our Cider House to incorporate this natural sweetener into a dry cider we’d been working on. Ultimately, we found a nice combination with Tapped Maple.”

Tasting Notes from Angry Orchard’s Cider Makers:

Tapped Maple (5.0% ABV): Made from apples high in acidity, the dry cider base is then backsweetened – a common cider making technique that occurs after fermentation – with maple syrup to achieve balance between contrasting flavors.  This cider is made from a blend of culinary apple varieties from the renowned Pacific Northwest region including Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith, Gala and Pink Lady apples. Tapped Maple offers a flavorful contrast to dishes like southern fried chicken or pork tacos, but also pairs well with classic hearty desserts like bread pudding.

The seasonal experimentation also led to another new limited release cider in Angry Orchard’s Winter Orchard Sampler Variety Pack, Angry Orchard Spiced Apple. Spiced Apple combines a fresh apple taste with lively seasonal spices, much like a classic baked apple pie. A mix of culinary apples like Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith and Gala French, and bittersweet apples, such as Amere de Berthecourt, Beden, Medaille d’or, Michelin, and Binet Rouge were used in the making of Spiced Apple.

Courtesy of Angry Orchard

Having traveled the world exploring various apple varieties and ingredients and uncovering new processes and techniques, the cider makers at Angry Orchard continue to hone their craft as they develop inventive and refreshing styles for drinkers to experience. The cider industry has made a recent comeback, as drinkers have embraced hard cider as a go-to alternative to beer and wine, and it’s carving out its rightful place at the table.

Tapped Maple is now available in 6-packs and the Winter Orchard Sampler Variety Pack nationwide through April 2017. Spiced Apple is available as a limited release in the Winter Orchard Sampler Variety Pack through April 2017. Suggested retail price for a 6-pack is $8.99-9.99, and $15.99 – 18.99 for a variety 12-pack (price varies per market).

Courtesy of Angry Orchard

About Angry Orchard Cider Company:
The cider makers at Angry Orchard have been experimenting with apple varieties, ingredients and processes to develop hard cider recipes for more than 20 years. The cider makers have travelled the world to find the best apples for cider making and chose specific varieties – like French bittersweet apples from Normandy, culinary apples from Italy and the Pacific Northwest U.S. based on each cider's desired flavor profile. In fall 2015, Angry Orchard opened a new home for research and development on a historic 60-acre apple orchard in the Walden, NY. There, the cider makers will continue to drive experimentation at the Innovation Cider House, and drinkers are welcome to visit for samples of exclusive ciders made on-site. Despite the recent growth of hard cider in the US, the category is still small and relatively unknown. Angry Orchard is committed to drinker education and awareness-building to help grow the category for all craft cider makers.

Angry Orchard makes a variety of year-round craft cider styles, including Angry Orchard Crisp Apple, a crisp and refreshing fruit-forward cider that blends the sweetness of culinary apples with dryness and bright acidity from bittersweet apples for a balanced flavor profile. Angry Orchard also makes The Cider House Collection specialty ciders, as well as a variety of seasonal ciders.

To Learn More: 

To find where Angry Orchard hard cider is served near you, visit the "cider finder" at http://www.angryorchard.com/cider-finder. Cider lovers can explore the Orchard online at www.angryorchard.com/our-orchard and like us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @AngryOrchard.

Angry Orchard is a registered trademark of the Angry Orchard Cider Company.

2017 Bend Brewfest Sets Dates, Accepts Brewery Participant Applications

Courtesy of Bend Brewfest

Annual Bend, Oregon beer festival scheduled for August 10-12; applications for brewery participation open through the end of the month

Bend, Oregon -10 February 2017 – Get ready to raise a pint to toast all things craft beer for the 15^th annual Bend Brewfest, scheduled for August 10-12, 2017 at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon’s Old Mill District. Traditionally held on the third weekend in August, this year’s event was moved up to accommodate the highly anticipated solar eclipse which will pass over Central Oregon.

Once again, breweries from around the region will apply to share their creations with nearly 40,000 patrons. Brewery applications are available on the Bend Brewfest website and are due by February 28, 2017.

“There is a huge amount of interest each year from breweries all around the region,” said Marney Smith, director of the festival. “With only 75 spots available, we always have a wait list. We will be announcing the final brewery lineup in late March.”

Last year’s event served up 190 craft beverages to 38,000+ visitors, raising more than $18,000 for charity. The money was divided equally among three local nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their respective missions:

• Deschutes River Conservancy – to restore streamflow and improve water quality in the Deschutes Basin.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon – to provide mentoring programs for area youth.
• Neighbor Impact – to help families access skills for success, family services, financial assistance, food, housing, heat and energy assistance.

Smith continued, “For us, one of the most important parts of this event is giving back. Each year, we are able to support our beneficiaries in a significant way and we want to thank everyone who came out, bought beer and helped raise money for our community. Let’s do it again in 2017!”

Each year festival visitors can taste both incredibly rare and popular beers from nano-breweries to some of the most highly recognized craft breweries in the region, in addition to hand-crafted ciders and wine. The X-Taps showcase low-production, specialty beers not available in stores or restaurants.

For more information, visit www.bendbrewfest.com.

About the Les Schwab Amphitheater

The Les Schwab Amphitheater is Central Oregon premier music venue, providing a beautiful outdoor riverfront space for concerts, festivals, sporting events and more. Opened in the historic Old Mill District in 2002, the Amphitheater was named in honor of a remarkable Central Oregonian, Leslie Schwab. The venue accommodates approximately 8,000 patrons for some of the biggest names in entertainment, the Bend Brewfest in August, plus free concerts by local and national performers in the Bend Memorial Clinic Free Summer Sunday Concert Series. www.bendconcerts.com

About the Old Mill District

One of the Pacific Northwest’s most distinctive and dynamic mixed-use developments, the Old Mill District is located on 270 acres that formerly housed one of the largest sawmill operations in the world. The rich history of the land is coupled with spectacular mountain views, scenic river vistas and an extensive trail system to enjoy the outdoors.  More than 55 local, regional and national retailers and businesses call the Old Mill District home. The Old Mill District – Bend’s most unique shopping, dining, living, and entertainment experience.  www.theoldmill.com