Events
January 22-23
Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Fest
Anchorage, Alaska
There’s no better time to drink barleywine than January in Alaska. At this barleywine-focused fest, more than 50 brewers will be pouring 200-plus beers from Alaska, the Northwest
and beyond.
auroraproductions.net/beer-barley.html
January 23
Asheville Winter Warmer Beer Festival
Asheville, North Carolina
Shake off pesky winter blues with a trip to Western North Carolina’s beer capital. The annual Winter Warmer Beer Fest, a comprehensive tasting of the state’s and region’s breweries plus a guest brewery, takes place in downtown Asheville’s Civic Center.
January 24
Urban Chestnut Wolpertinger
St. Louis, Missouri
The mascot for Urban Chestnut’s anniversary festival is the “Wolpertinger,” a mythical Bavarian creature. In the spirit of this splendid beast, the brewery invites the St. Louis brewing community to join together and showcase special beers. About 30 area breweries, plus a special guest brewery, will be in attendance, and Urban Chestnut
will debut a variety of one-offs, including Wolpertinger, a blend of several barrel-aged beers.
January 30
Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival
St. Paul, Minnesota
In partnership with the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, the Beer Dabbler includes a host of festivities like a meat and cheese showcase, live music and bonfires, food trucks and outdoor winter activities (past years included human foosball and a world record snowball fight attempt). There’s beer too, of course: 140-plus breweries and mulled beer and cider.
January 30-31
RateBeer Best
Santa Rosa, California
Beer rating and review website RateBeer is taking its annual RateBeer Best awards into the physical realm. The doubleheader event includes an Awards Show, open to brewers and VIP ticket holders, and a RateBeer Best Beer Festival at a private hangar at Santa Rosa Airport, featuring beers from more than 40 breweries around the world.
Beer Releases
Bell’s Brewery
Hopslam Ale
10% | Double IPA
The highly sought-after Hopslam Ale, a double IPA brewed with Michigan honey, is up for a packaging change this year. Due to brewery construction, Bell’s bottling line is overbooked, so the beer will be released solely in six-packs of 12-ounce cans and kegs.
Tröegs Brewing Co.
Anthology Winter Pack
ABV Varies | Variety Pack
Tröegs is overhauling its Anthology variety cases, which feature a unique package for each of the seasonals, beginning with Anthology Winter in 2015. The new pack will feature Perpetual IPA, Troegenator Double Bock, Blizzard of Hops Winter IPA and Scratch Series Chocolate Stout. This also marks the first time bottles from the experimental Scratch Beer Series will be available outside the brewery.
Heavy Seas Beer
Deep Six
6.2% ABV | English-Style Porter
The new seasonal offering from Heavy Seas Beer arrives on Jan. 1. Deep Six is a robust English-style porter described as “dark and earthy” with a “rich mocha-like complexity” and a dry finish.