North Texas brewers have been a busy bunch lately. With the change in season, many have been working on snuggly versions of their beer, something to cuddle up with on these chilly 70- or 20-degree December days.
These are a few beers you might consider tromping out in the ice to horde before Ice-aggedon 2013.
Lakewood Brewing Co. is releasing Bourbon Barrel Temptress 2013 this Saturday at the brewery, with draft sales to follow next week. Plus, founder Wim Bens expects to have BBT13 in bottles by Christmas. Bens also told us that the Temptress has overtaken their flagship lager as their best-seller now that the weather has taken a chilly turn.
Community Beer Co. is releasing a new winter beer, Glenstemmons, which is "an intensely malty, non-peated strong Scotch-style ale" brewed with an authentic yeast strain from a famous Edinburgh brewery. In January, they'll release a bourbon-aged Glenstemmons at their anniversary party. Also, Community is starting a running club: be there Thursday at 6 p.m. for a little 2.5 mile jaunt followed by a gathering at the brewery.
Four Corners Brewing is working on a winter brew called Celebracion, which should be ready next week (December 9). It's a Belgian brown ale brewed with fresh ginger with an 8-percent ABV. This limited release will be on draft at bars around town (watch their Facebook page), although a brewery tour might be the best place to get your hands on a pint. In other news, the little brewery across the big fancy-pants bridge plans on installing a canning line this February.
Deep Ellum Brewing Co.'s new brewer, Jeremy Hunt, has developed a winter seasonal, 4 Swords, inspired by Belgium Trappist Monastic brewers. It clocks in at 9.5-percent ABV and is described as having a "surge of fruity esters on the nose," followed by a full-bodied malt profile, laced with caramel and dark fruit flavors.
DEBC is also getting ready to release a coffee beer, which should be called "When My Two Worlds Collide" but is instead called Oak Cliff Coffee Ale. The brown ale coffee-beer is brewed with 40 pounds of single estate cold-pressed coffee from Panama. Oak Cliff Coffee Ale will be released about the same time as 4 Swords.
Martin House in Fort Worth will release their winter warmer, Sugar and Spice, in mid-December. The barley wine is made with liberal portions of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and pilonzilo, an unrefined Mexican brown sugar.
While Peticolas released Wintervention last year, a beer our food critic Scott compared to grandma's cookies in a negative way, Kevin Afgani at Craft and Growler reports that it is hands-down still their most popular winter beer, often going through a keg a day.
