As we finish up another year of beer, it’s time to look ahead to what we’ll be pouring, sipping and loving in 2018. I’ve reached out to a few of our town’s best brewers to see what we can expect from them in the next Year of Beer.
My last visit to Old Bakery occurred on one of my best nights of the summer of 2017. My favorite New Orleans rock band, Better Then Ezra was playing that night at the Alton Amphitheater, which is literally across the walking bridge from some of my favorite beer. On that night, I did two flights featuring Centennial, Citrus Wheat, Northland IPA, Cerveza Con Lima, Scottish Ale, Hibiscus Tart and Gentle Giant. I can’t get enough of this brewery’s stuff.
Which is why I’m glad to know that 2018, myself and all of you will be seeing much, much more from Old Bakery.
What Can We Expect in 2018
The biggest news for the Alton brewery is that their new canning line will be ready to roll in February. Until now, Old Bakery utilized the mobile canning talents of Midwest Mobile Canning. Having their own canning line will allow them more flexibility and control over their product.
“This also means that we will have a larger lineup of beers in 2018. We will have 3 rotating seasonal series beers available, each featuring a quarterly release – our Core Series featuring a few of our mainstay seasonals such as Oktoberfest and Hibiscus Tart, a Coffee Series featuring exciting collaborations with Kaldi’s Coffee, and a Hop Series featuring several hop forward styles ranging from Pilsner to Rosemary IPA.” – Lauren Pattan
More information about their lineup for next year will be available very soon as well as plans to expand their distribution footprint, but some details are still pending
New Releases
The first of the new releases from Old Bakery will feature a called Centennial White, which will debut the new Hop Series. A white IPA, brewed with just Centennial Hops, it will be light in color with a fluffy head from the addition of raw wheat, which was procured from Cow Creek Farm in Central Illinois.
“Due to the generous use of Centennial Hops, the beer will have a lot of citrus & some floral character in both the aroma and flavor profile. The beer comes in at 5.7% and 55 IBU. It was a crowd favorite at the pub last year, so we are excited to offer it into distribution with both cans and draft in 2018!” — Lauren Pattan
The new canned seasonal series will include four never before brewed beers and eight beers they have never distributed. They will also be featuring more pilot brews at the pub, which means there will always be some be something new to try.
Proud History
Founded in 1818, Alton remains a postcard of the dream of ‘main street’ America, with 19th-century buildings lining the streets, inviting strollers to enjoy a bit of river life. One such building started its life as a bakery in the late 1800’s. After a fire in 1929 and a series of remodels, additions, and changes in ownership, the building remained a bakery until the early 1980’s when it shut down.
“The Old Bakery Beer Company was born in early 2015 after we were introduced to the beautiful old Colonial Bakery building in downtown Alton, IL,” said James Rogalsky, brewer and co-owner. “We have tried our best to keep the building’s history alive and our name is just a small piece of that endeavor.”
More beer coming on draft, in cans and in collab in 2018 for Charleville!
