As I have written before, when it gets cold outside, I welcome the heavier, warmer beers that make up the ‘beers of winter’ but I also welcome the annual beer portfolio’s that many breweries release, forecasting the next years’ releases.
Not every brewery does this, but for those that do, it is a welcoming prospect for their fans and customers because frankly, anticipation works.
This week, Schlafly’s founding brewer Stephen Hale and Brand Manager Wil Rogers presented the 2018 portfolio on Facebook Live here. Key takeaways from the broadcast include: two new year-round styles, 12-pack offerings of 16-ounce cans, new beers for sampler packs, a rebranded Cellar Series and more.
“This year marks our golden birthday, our 26th anniversary on December 26th. Even with our tenure, we continue to innovate and offer new beers for our consumer. We take careful thought and consideration to every beer that we release, and we’re excited to see what consumers think about our 2018 plans,” says Hale. See Expanded Image Here
Cans, Cans & More Cans: Just last week, Schlafly Beer announced plans to release its popular White Lager beer in 12-packs of 16-ounce cans. In addition to the year-round can offering, the brewery will also add more cans to the portfolio with seasonal 12-packs of Hoppy Wheat (spring) and Oktoberfest (fall). An additional style will be released in the line-up of single-serve cans, which currently includes White Lager and Kölsch.
New Year-Round Beers: Schlafly will introduce a new year-round offering with IPA, a sessionable IPA (5% ABV, 35 IBUs) that the “brewers have been begging to brew for a while.” The IPA will be available in 6-pack bottles and draft, as well as a new addition to the single-serve, can styles. In addition to IPA, one of Schlafly’s original brews, Pilsner, which returned this fall, will also join the year-round line-up.
Seasonal Favorites Return: Schlafly’s seasonal line-up brings back favorites from Raspberry Hefeweizen to Coffee Stout and dessert-forward beers like Double Bean Blonde, Coconut Crème Ale and “pumpkin pie in a glass” Pumpkin Ale.
Curated Sampler Packs: The largest, locally owned brewery has become a leader in sampler packs from the celebrated Stout Bout to the educational Hop Trial pack. All packs return for 2018 with new beers. For example, the Hop Trial pack will focus on SMaSH beers with all hops from the Pacific Northwest.
Hop Allocation Series: The line-up of hop-forward beers throughout the year will include returning beers such as Tasmanian IPA and American IPA as well as exciting new additions like Northeast IPA (8% ABV, 35 IBUs) in late-January as well as India Pale Lager (5.5% ABV, 30 IBUs) in July.
Cellar Selections: The 750-ml bottle series gets a makeover for 2018. The Cellar Selections bottle design now showcases the research and development inside each of the inventive beers with a handwritten look and feel and a descriptive neck tag. This year’s Cellar Selections offers a creative collection of beers utilizing unconventional ingredients such as Raspberry Chipotle Brown Ale (January), cocktail-inspired beers like Kentucky Mule, Paloma Gose and more.
From the Ibex Cellar: One of Schlafly’s most celebrated series returns for 2018 with the popular Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout and Imperial Coffee Stout as well as new styles such as Sour Blonde, Barrel-Aged Saison, and Barrel-aged Barleywine.
