Seasonals are fun beers that let a brewer show off their brewing skills making special beers to celebrate the particular time of year. We get heavier spiced beers in the Winter and lighter fruity beers in the Summer. As the days get longer and the temperatures start to rise, America’s craft brewers are celebrating the upcoming season by releasing their spring favorites. With these offerings, you can often expect a lighter-bodied beer with bright and fresh flavors that herald the coming of warm weather, barbeques, and spending time outdoors. Five I have tried:
Cooperstown, NY
ABV: 5.4 | Rating: 90
Located in Cooperstown New York, once the epicenter of US Hop production, the brewery was built on 136 acres of land that used to be a hop farm. Using water from deep artisan wells and local ingredients, Ommegang brews award winning Belgian style ales.
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Escondido, California
ABV: 8.2 | Rating: 92
Released on February 10, 2014, this over-the-top IPA hails from Stone Brewing, even though it's cleverly disguised as a creation by Koochenvagner's Brewing Company (which is the actual DBA of Stone, named after co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner). This hop monster logs in at 95 IBUs, just shy of the 100 maximum that the human palate is believed to be capable of tasting. It's hopped with Centennial, Chinook and Magnum, known for their citrusy character. The word "stochastic" means involving a random variable, but in this case, the variable is not that random. Instead, for good measure, the brew is dry hopped with more Centennial and an immense dose of hand-zested fresh grapefruit peel providing intense citrus fruit. It's the ultimate citrus-hop bomb, but you may be surprised to find the bitterness is balanced and does not overwhelm, lingering long after you've swallowed.Hazy golden orange with tropical and citrus aroma. Hoppy and intense the grapefruit dominates. Well balanced, crisp and delicious. Bitter but not scorching. I loved this beer.
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Spring Training IPA| Cambridge Brewing Company
Cambridge, Massachusetts
ABV: 6.0 | Rating: 85
CBC’s “Spring Training” breezes in like a breath of fresh air, ready to awaken your senses from a long, strange winter. Crafted of New England-grown pale and wheat malts to contribute to the beer’s complex body and hazy straw-golden color.
Ahtanum and Palisades hops, both relative newcomers on the hop varietal
scene, were chosen for their essence of wildflowers and freshly-cut
grass, evocative of floral springtime breezes. This is in contrast to
the piney, earthy and resiny characteristics of most IPAs. But don’t
worry that these “pretty” hops won’t deliver a strong punch- in addition
to extensive kettle hopping the beer is dry-hopped with even more
Ahtanums to satisfy your hop craving. Available only during the brief
Boston springtime!
Fluffy White Rabbits Hoppy Triple | Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project
Somerville, Massachusetts
ABV: 8.5 | Rating: 90
Each Spring Pretty Things makes a pale gold, hoppy
triple called Fluffy White Rabbits. This is a fun and Springy beer. In Yorkshire, they say “White Rabbits”
on the first of the month for luck.
The beer is 8.5% abv, with Saaz, Styrian Goldings and Strisselspalt hops added aplenty. There’s a faint sweetness with tropical fruit undertones. Fluffy White Rabbits is a very “Pretty Things” take on a Triple. Using the finest ingredients around: malts from Weyermann (Germany) and Fawcett (Yorkshire) in this beer.
Nicely balanced hoppy triple. Some sweetness balanced by a floral hop backbone.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
ABV: 6.0 | Rating: 85
CBC’s “Spring Training” breezes in like a breath of fresh air, ready to awaken your senses from a long, strange winter. Crafted of New England-grown pale and wheat malts to contribute to the beer’s complex body and hazy straw-golden color.
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| Bright and fresh a light bodied IPA perfect for Spring! |
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Somerville, Massachusetts
ABV: 8.5 | Rating: 90
Each Spring Pretty Things makes a pale gold, hoppy
triple called Fluffy White Rabbits. This is a fun and Springy beer. In Yorkshire, they say “White Rabbits”
on the first of the month for luck.The beer is 8.5% abv, with Saaz, Styrian Goldings and Strisselspalt hops added aplenty. There’s a faint sweetness with tropical fruit undertones. Fluffy White Rabbits is a very “Pretty Things” take on a Triple. Using the finest ingredients around: malts from Weyermann (Germany) and Fawcett (Yorkshire) in this beer.
Nicely balanced hoppy triple. Some sweetness balanced by a floral hop backbone.
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Durty Brown Ale | Smuttynose Brewing CompanyPortsmouth, New Hampshire
ABV: 8.4 | Rating: 80
Brown and Hoppy - a rare pairing. But that’s the best way to describe Durty, Smuttynose Brewing Company’s new “mud season” ale. Take the caramelly notes of a brown ale, pair them with the hop aroma and flavor of a double IPA, and you’re right in this beer’s wheelhouse.
Durty is delicious balance of two styles. It has enough “oomph” to get you through the chilly nights and frosty mornings of early spring, but the light body and big hop flavor will awaken your tongue and senses for the coming warm weather. And at 8.4%, you won’t mind the extra mopping and snow cleaning that comes along with the seasonal thaw.
And a five on my list to try...
Sunny RidgePilsner | Jack's Abbey
Framingham, Massachusetts
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And a five on my list to try...
Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 5.1 | Rating: NR
This aromatic lager features a sunshine hue, herbal noble hop nose, and a dry finish. We balance pilsner malt with a blend of European hops and polish it with extended periods of cold conditioning. You're royalty, now drink like it!
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Alpine Spring White Ale | Sam Adam's Brewing
ABV: 5.3 | Rating: NR
The Boston Beer Company prides itself on offering beers for every season. Stirring from the haze of winter, this refreshing unfiltered White Ale awakens its smooth wheat with the bright snap of spring spices. From the subtle sweetness of orange peel and plum to the peppery bite of fresh ground coriander, the blend of spices creates just the right refreshing kick to signal that spring is on its way.
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ABV: 6.7 | Rating: NR
The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is known for using only fresh full-cone hops, so what's a brewery to do when hops are only harvested in late summer? The harvest season for hops is a painfully short window—that precious time when the hops are bursting with intense aromatics. Luckily for us, harvest comes twice a year: once in each hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere features fresh New Zealand hops that are picked, dried, and shipped to our brewery within seven days. The result is a complex beer that showcases the floral and herbal flavors and aromas of Southern Cross, Pacifica, and Motueka hops. Southern Hemisphere is part of our five-bottle Harvest series which features single hop, fresh hop, wet hop, and wild hop beers.
Last Year this was amazing! Available May 2014.
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Harpoon Long Thaw White IPA | Harpoon Brewery
Boston, Massachusetts
ABV: 6.2 | Rating: NR
“Spring” in New England is a fickle friend. So we brewed a beer that could carry us through the January cold while hinting at warmer days ahead. With notes of orange peel and coriander, the soft mouthfeel of a Belgian wit, and an intense hop profile, The Long Thaw White IPA combines the warming backbone of an IPA with citrus notes indicative of the coming spring. “Spring” in New England may be indecisive, but we can help make one decision a little easier.
With notes of orange peel and coriander, the soft mouthfeel of a Belgian wit, and an intense hop profile, The Long Thaw White IPA combines the warming backbone of an IPA with citrus notes indicative of the coming spring. The Long Thaw is brewed to complement both cold-weather fun and the eagerness of warmer weather ahead.
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Irish Red Red Ale | Wormtown Brewery
Worcester, Massachusetts
ABV: 65.0 | Rating: NR
Wormtown is one of the hottest breweries in Massachusetts. They created this to be a medium to light bodied red ale with light toasty malt aroma. It is reddish copper in color,with a caramel malt flavor and a light and dry roasted finish. A smooth and easy drinking Irish Ale.
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| Go Bruins! |
