Posts Tagged ‘Aroma Prieta’

Drake’s Joins Strong Beer Month

Friday, January 18th, 2013

Just in case SF Beer Week isn’t enough for you, our friends at 21st Amendment and Magnolia have declared every February for the past decade plus to be Strong Beer Month.  Not ones to miss a party, we sent lead brewer Alexandra Nowell westward to 2nd & De Boom to collaborate with 21A’s Shaun O’Sullivan on an Imperial IPA sure to hold its own against the rest of what Strong Beer Month has to offer. Then on the brew day January 5, the Drake’s crew (including John Martin, Packaging Supervisor (and former 21A brewer) Mike Pawlicki, Marketing Director Kelsey Williams, and Sales Manager Dow Tunis) came out in force to lend a hand (or drink and supervise) as the brew commenced.

Nelson, Jade, and Helga, which was brewed Saturday, January 5 at 21st Amendment, will be a Triple IPA made with 2-row, caramalt, rye, chocolate malt, and a little roasted barley, along with a combination of New Zealand (Nelson Sauvin & Pacific Jade) and American hops (Centennial & Amarillo) set to hit 10.5% ABV.

The concept of this beer harkens back to a cask Alex made for the Aroma Coma and Aroma Prieta release on July 28th of 2012. Alex had decided to do a yin and yang sort of thing, adding NZ hops to a cask of Aroma Coma US-hopped IPA, and some US Chinook hops to a cask of Aroma Prieta NZ-hopped IPA.

Anyone who experienced the latter cask on that day can attest to its brilliance. It had all the elegant, aromatic gooseberry, lemon, tropical fruit experiences of the Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Jade, and Motueka hops with an added sturdy backbone of pine-woodsy aromas from the Chinook. It was a tremendous cask. Those who received it were lucky bastards indeed. So, Alex brought the idea to Shaun, and together they came up with the final Drake’s Collaboration submission to the strong beer month lineup at 21A.

“Expect an incredible hop aroma with a firm malt backbone, but the hops are gonna be the showcase here,” said Shaun during the brew day.
“It will have notes of tangerine, gooseberries, and muscat grapes from the NZ hops with the pine and citrus US hop backing,” added Alex.

Don’t know about you guys, but it sounds like its gonna be pretty damn good to us. The beer will be released on Friday, February 1st at 21st Amendment alongside a lineup of five other beers over 8.5% ABV at the pub and 6 other strong offerings at Magnolia. If you manage to try all 12 beers within the month, you will receive your own Strong Beer Month glass to commemorate your staunchness in the face of delicious, liver-crushing dangers. Drink Drake’s and Godspeed.

Enjoy Pics from the Brew Day below.


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Posted in beer, Brewers, Brewery, craft beer, Drake's Brewing, Drake's Staff, Event, Release, San Francisco Beer Week | No Comments »

Aroma Coma wins People’s Choice for 2nd year in a Row

Monday, August 6th, 2012

This past weekend our beloved aromatic IPA, Aroma Coma took the People’s Choice award at the Bistro’s Annual IPA Fest for the 2nd year running. Amongst an intimidating (and delicious) field of over 60 competitors, the people voted for Aroma Coma, and that’s pretty exciting on our end.

Thanks to everyone that came to enjoy the hops all day in Hayward! If you couldn’t make it down on Saturday, come by the Barrel House sometime soon to try our Aroma Coma and its sister beer Aroma Prieta made with New Zealand hops. Cheers.


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Posted in Beer Fests, Brewery, craft beer, Drake's Brewing, Seasonal | 1 Comment »

Feelin’ New Zealand

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Alex and Vince had a good time mashing in.

There’s a guest brewer in the house today, and I don’t think we could have picked a better brew day for him to join. Vincent Hine, former brewer at Hallertau Brewbar, a 12 hectoliter (~10 bbl) brewpub in Auckland New Zealand joined Alex on the brew deck.

We first met Vince last November at a local beer festival here in San Francisco, and have been hatching plans to have him in for a brew day ever since. So, when Vince showed up this Saturday for the Aroma Coma and Aroma Prieta release, one of those little Eureka lightbulbs popped up over our heads… bring  him in for the next Aroma Prieta brew.

Yes, that’s correct. More of our newest seasonal, Aroma Prieta double-dry-hopped IPA with New Zealand hops is hitting the tanks today.

We know what you’re thinking…  ”That’s Awesome! But why didn’t you just brew more in the first place?”

There’s a pretty fascinating answer for that, but the short version is: We didn’t get all of our New Zealand hops in time for the first brew. Due to the growing popularity of New Zealand’s hop varieties and their long harvest season, all the hops we planned to use didn’t quite make it to San Leandro in time for the first brew of Prieta.

According to Vince, their particular aromas and flavors of tropical fruit, lemon, citrus, and gooseberries have caught the attention of brewers both domestically, where they have traditionally relied more on Noble and English varieties, as well as in American craft breweries.

“From what I’ve seen of the hop fields, it’s still a very small production, but expanding. I don’t know if they are expanding at the rate of popularity,” Vince explained.

Still, despite initial setbacks, we are currently brewing up more Aroma Prieta today, which according to our in-house expert of the day, is “balanced with nice Motueka (lemon, citrus) and Nelson Sauvin (lemon, gooseberries, and sometimes green bell pepper) character.”

Thanks Vince for hanging out, helping us with the brew, and giving us some first hand insight into New Zealand hops.

For those still seeking Prieta, we currently have a few cases of bottles left here at the Barrel House, and the next batch should be available in a couple of weeks, though we’ve not decided how much will become bottles and how much will be draft. In the meantime, have an Aroma Coma. Cheers.


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Posted in beer, Brewers, Brewery, craft beer, Drake's Brewing, Drake's Staff, Seasonal | 1 Comment »

Coming Soon: Aroma Coma and Aroma Prieta

Monday, June 18th, 2012

Aroma Coma fans, it’s time to get happy. Not only are we planning to release Aroma Coma again in 22oz bottles in a larger run than last year, but this year, we are also releasing Aroma Coma’s sister beer, Aroma Prieta in bottles and on draft.

Aroma Prieta will be, like Aroma Coma, 6.75% ABV and 75 IBUs. Check out the label description:

“Shake out from Aroma Coma with Aroma Prieta. Aroma Coma’s sister beer mirrors its twin starting with primarily American 2-row barley malt and a touch Caramalt for body. From there, we turn things upside down. This time, Prieta leaves behind Coma’s North American hops for some Southern Hemisphere hop action. New Zealand hops Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Jade, and Motueka and Aussie hop Helga in the double dry-hop give Aroma Prieta huge notes of tropical fruit, gooseberries, and grapefruit. Like Coma but different: breathe in these hops and enjoy.”

Aroma Prieta will be released alongside Aroma Coma on July 28th with a release event here at Drake’s Barrel House (details TBA). Afterwards, both beers will be available out in the market, with Aroma Coma more widely distributed.

Our long-time fans will remember Aroma Prieta as a beer we have done in the past (last brewed in 2010), but not with NZ hops. Essentially, its original concept was to be a twin beer with different hops. So, this time around for a large scale release we decided to go for more fruit-forward NZ hops as a cool contrast with the piney, resinous hop character of Aroma Coma. Breathe in the hops and enjoy.

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Posted in beer, craft beer, Drake's Brewing, Release, Seasonal | 3 Comments »

Drake’s News Update: Father’s Day, Alpha Session, and Aromas

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
Dad’s Day at Drake’s
IMG_0540Father’s Day approaches. Time to toast the guy that (likely) let you taste your first sip of beer. 

To honor that gift and the many more your Dads have given over the years, we suggest you get down to the Barrel House on Father’s Day (so long as you’re over 21… sorry kiddos). 

Sunday, June 17th, we will have a special firkin of a beer we’ve named “Father Knows Best”- a blend of bourbon-aged and regular Drakonic with espresso added. Also, the first 5 people that come into the barrel-house with their Dad will get their old man a pint on us. Also, whoever brings in the best picture of themselves with their Dad will win a Drake’s Growler + Beer Fill of your choice (bonus points if you are drinkin’ beer with Dad in the picture, extra bonus points if you’re drinkin’ Drake’s with Dad in the shot). We will announce the winner at 3pm along with a full bar toast to all Dads. 

James and Co. from Fists of Flour pizza will be here making pies for Pops. The Barrel House opens at 12pm and closes at 7pm on Sundays. 

**As always the DBH is 21+ only**

For more Barrel House info including current tap list, food truck & events calendar, hours, and retail sales, click here.

Alpha Session Available Now

Our latest addition to our annual seasonal line-up, Drake’s Alpha Session, is now available on tap and in stores throughout California. 

Just a warning, our hoppy session ale (3.8%, 50 IBUs) is catching on, and going fast. Get some while you can. 

If you want information on how to find Alpha Session near you, feel free to give us a call 510-568-2739 or contact us through the website at www.drinkdrakes.com.

Aromas Coming… early August 

Aroma Coma 2
 This year… the Coma doesn’t stand alone. We’re shakin’ things up.
Coming in early August 2012, Aroma Coma and Aroma Prieta. 
Sister beers, entirely different hops. Stay tuned. 

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Posted in Barrel House, Brewers, Brewery, Drake's Brewing, Event, Seasonal | 1 Comment »