As Spring approaches and with St. Patrick’s Day festivities now passed, breweries throughout the Bay Area are releasing tropical flavors and pulling out barrel-aged blends for drinkers to enjoy. Here’s just a few new beers being released this week by breweries in the East Bay, San Francisco and Peninsula regions:
East Bay
Fieldwork – The new Berkeley brewery is releasing their Chisel IPA, made with Citra and Amarillo hops. Fieldwork’s brewmaster, Alex Tweet, describes the beer as “a tropical fruit salad of an IPA.” Growlers are available and the beer is on tap at the brewery.
Black Diamond – The Concord brewery is releasing a limited supply of its Peak XV Imperial Porter aged in bourbon barrels. The Peak XV Imperial Porter itself is already a big, dark beer, brewed with vanilla and cacao. The barrel-aged version sees 25 percent of the beer aged in bourbon barrels. The beer is available in limited supply on tap and in bottles at the brewery, and is a great cellar item.
Drakes – Over in San Leandro, Drakes is releasing their Manhattan Project porter aged in Manhattan whiskey barrels from High West Distillery in Utah. The brewery blended spices and orange zest to the beer to create what they’re calling “a cocktail in beer form.” Available at the San Leandro taproom.
Rare Barrel – While most breweries are storing their beers in used bourbon or wine barrels, Rare Barrel is aging their beer in used barrels from their own creations. Keen Observation is the second release of the brewery’s Echo Series, a series that specifically uses unrinsed barrels from their wile ale, Map of the sun. Keen Observation is a golden sour beer fermented with Saccharmyces and aged for months in Map of the Sun Barrels. Read more about the Echo Series here.
San Francisco
Tallulah XPA, an extra pale ale by SF brewery Speakeasy, is available on tap and in bottles this week. Courtesy of Speakeasy / Liquid Bread Magazine
Speakeasy – One sign Spring is here is the Bayview brewery releasing their yearly rendition of Tallulah XPA. The brewery describes the extra pale ale as having a “crispy body, floral/tropical aroma and balanced bitter.” Available in bottles and on tap, this beer is perfect blend between a light summer and spring beer. Speakeasy is also releasing a secret imperial IPA on tap this Friday, available only by asking for the VIP beer. Grilled cheeses will be available at the brewery around 4:30 p.m.
Cellarmaker – After you’re done drinking fresh IPAs and spring beer in the Bayview, head over to the SoMa and try Cellarmaker’s new Rude Boy pale ale. Brewed with Dr. Rudi hops from New Zealand, as well as Simcoe and Amarillo hops from Yakima, Washington, the brewery describes this beer as “lots of orange, fresh grapefruit, intense pine, blackberry and stonefruit.”
Peninsula
Hop Dogma – The El Granada brewery is getting ready to tap their first cask conditioned beer: a hoppy English red ale brewed in collaboration with Redwood City brewery, Freewheel Brewing Company. The cask will be available this Friday at 5 p.m.
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