The Boston Beer Company is a great barometer for what's happening with the craft beer market, so the announcement of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection is great news for beer fans.
The limited-edition brews are aged in barrels that go back to when the makers of Sam Adams first began experimenting with the process 16 years ago. Barrel aging -- a burgeoning trend in craft brewing -- offers brewers the opportunity to infuse a richness of flavor such as fruit or smoky overtones, depending on the wood used for the barrel and what else is added to the mixture.
The Boston Beer Company is also working on a collaborative beer with German brewer Weihenstephan, which dates back to 1040. All we know at the moment is that it will have 10 percent alcohol by volume and four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. This comes on the heels of Boulevard Brewery's announcement that it will co-produce an imperial pilsner with the Belgian brewery Orval.
It's a shame that a majority of the craft brews will only be available regionally, because we should all get to sample the results of these kinds of partnerships. So could someone please just solve the problem of having craft beer shipped around the country?
Perhaps a peer-to-peer network of craft beer lovers, where instead of trading music, we could all ship six-packs. I'd gladly send somebody a case of Boulevard Wheat for some Yuengling. You've got my address, that's all I'm saying.
[Image via Flickr: rojer]
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Check out the beer trading forums on BeerAdvocate.com for that peer to peer network you seek!
Boulevard collaborated with Jean-Marie Rock, the brewmaster from Orval. It is not a collaboration with Orval brewery, but solely with Rock.
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