ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Iron Horse Brewery released their 2018 beer schedule on Thursday on their blog, “The Horse’s Mouth”. The schedule reflects many changes the brand hopes will succeed in 2018. New year-round offerings alongside a new look for seasonal beers are big changes for the longtime Eastern Washington brewery.
For the year-round offerings, the brand’s longtime flagship, Irish Death, will be making a push into single-serve 16 oz. cans; test marketed at Safeco Field during Seattle Mariners games. Iron Horse is also changing its flagship IPA again, offering up Hand Cannon, a beefier version of session IPA Finger Gun. Finger Gun and Beer Wolf will both not return for 2018. Rounding out the 2018 year-round releases is Send It pale ale. Send It is a double-dry hopped Citra pale ale, a new move for the brewery, which will debut in all markets in April.
Another big change for the brewery is a move from a quarterly seasonal calendar to a trimester seasonal calendar. This will create a clearer picture of the brand’s offerings but having fewer brands for a longer period of time. All 3 brands will also be offered in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans for the first time. Leading off the season lineup, from January until April, is Double Rainbow, the brewery’s celebrated Red IPA or Hoppy Red Ale, depending on how you look it. From May to August, High 5 Hefeweizen will be available returning for summer. Lastly, from October until December, making its 12 oz. can debut, long time favorite Mocha Death coffee and cocoa smooth, dark ale will be rounding out the lineup. The status of Cozy Sweater, IHB’s vanilla milk stout remains to be determined.
With the simplified IPAs on these tracks, Iron Horse will also be experimenting a bit with their Extended Family Series in 2018. Gramps Hazy (Jan-April), Crazy Aunt Fruity (May-August), and In-Law Imperial (Sept-Dec) will all be joining the Iron Horse Brewery family of beer throughout the year.
“We thought it was important to acknowledge the people you see a few times a year, have a good time with, but don’t tell your deepest darkest secrets to,” said Jared Vallejo, Director of Marketing. “That’s what this series is all about.”
About Iron Horse Brewery
Iron Horse Brewery, centrally located in Ellensburg, WA, has been producing hand crafted ales since 2007. Iron Horse is owned by father-son team Greg and Gary Parker. With 40 employees and a 2015 expansion, enabling IHB to double its brewing capacity, the brewery produced roughly 26,000 barrels this year. To learn more about the brewery or to simply take a break from Facebook, go to www.ironhorsebrewery.com; you’ll probably be sorry you did. For more information, visit IronHorseBrewery.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or SnapChat @IronHorseBeer.