Three of the country’s top craft breweries unveiled their 2017 beer release schedules this week, sharing plans to introduce a host of new products and packages over the course of next year.
This morning, Michigan’s Founders Brewing said it would launch a new barrel-aged series that would include longtime favorites such as Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Backwoods Bastard, as well as four new offerings.
The first new beer in that series, Frootwood, is a “cherry ale aged in oak barrels that have previously held both bourbon and maple syrup,” the company said in a press release. Founders also said it planned to release Frootwood in January, distributing the new beer in four-packs and 750 mL bottles for suggested retail prices of $14.99 and $11.99, respectively.
Founders will also expand its seasonal lineup — which includes PC Pils, Azacca and Mosaic Promise — to include 15-pack cans, and begin canning its flagship All Day IPA in 19.2 oz. single-serve packages.
“We are amazed at what 2017 looks like for the brewery,” co-founder Dave Engbers said via the release. “Mike and I see the launch of the Barrel-Aged Series and the continued growth of All Day IPA as the culmination of years of hard work and sticking to our guns. We can’t think of a better way to kick-off our 20th anniversary.”
Meanwhile, New Belgium Brewing — the country’s fourth largest craft brewery, according to the Brewers Association — will introduce four new year-round releases while simultaneously creating a new line of hop-forward beers under the “Voodoo Ranger” trademark.
Dayblazer Easygoing Ale, Citradelic Exotic Lime Ale, Tartastic Lemon Ginger Sour and Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Ale — which all check-in under 5.5 percent ABV — will comprise New Belgium’s core lineup in 2017.
Voodoo Ranger IPA and Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA will round out the company’s hoppy beer lineup, replacing the Ranger IPA and Rampant Imperial IPA offerings that came before them. The new brands, checking in at 7 percent ABV and 9 percent ABV, respectively, will both feature the increasingly more popular Mosaic hop variety.
New Belgium will also rebrand its Blue Paddle Pilsener to New Belgium Bohemian Pilsener, it said.
“This is our most ambitious portfolio reimagining since our beginnings,” Bryan Simpson, New Belgium spokesperson, said via a press release. “We’ve got a lot of excitement, momentum and energy coming out of the pilot system and that makes for a bounty of great beers with interesting twists. We are very much back into experimentation and risk taking and that is hugely energizing for the whole brewery. 2017 is shaping up to be an awesome year for drinking beer.”
The company also plans to retire (at least temporarily) its Snapshot Wheat, Slow Ride Session IPA and Shift Pale Lager brands. Sunshine Wheat, meanwhile, will be rebranded to include a Colorado flag on the label, the company said.
Beer descriptions, provided by New Belgium, are included below.
- Voodoo Ranger IPA – Bursting with tropical aromas and juicy fruit flavors from Mosaic and Amarillo hops, this golden IPA is perfectly bitter with a refreshing finish. 7% ABV, 52 IBUs. Available in 12-oz bottles and cans and draft.
- Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA – a bold imperial IPA with a rare blend of Mosaic, Calypso, Bravo, and Delta hops creates and explosion of fresh cut pine and citrus flavors. 9% ABV and 85 IBUs. Available in 12-oz bottles and draft.
- Voodoo Ranger 8 Hop Ale – A brilliantly balanced pale ale packed with citrus and tropical fruit flavors from eight different hops. 5.5% ABV, 35 IBUs. Available in 12-oz bottles and cans and draft.
- Dayblazer Easygoing Ale – A refreshing golden ale with a slightly sweet, crisp finish and notes of honeycomb. 4.8% ABV. Available in 12-, 15-, and 24-pk 12-oz cans and (for the first time ever from New Belgium) 24-oz single cans.
- Citradelic Exotic Lime Ale – A crisp golden ale bursting with juicy Persian lime, fresh coriander and a hint of cracked black pepper. 5.3% ABV. Available in 12oz bottles only.
- Tartastic Lemon Ginger Sour Ale – a refreshing tank soured ale with the lip-tingling sweet and sour flavors of lemon and ginger. 4.8% ABV. Available in 12-oz bottles and cans as well as draft.
- New Belgium Bohemian Pilsener – Elegantly simple and crisp, this pilsener is clean and easy-drinking with a light, spicy noble hop bite. 4.8% ABV. Available in 12-oz bottles.
Also announcing its 2017 portfolio plans this week was Dogfish Head. The Delaware-based company said it would sell nine year-round offerings, including flagship 60 Minute IPA in 12-pack cans (in addition to bottles).
Also getting the can treatment in 2017 will be Dogfish Head’s Flesh & Blood IPA, sold in six-packs, and SeaQuench Ale.
The company’s seasonal offerings, meanwhile, will include: Beer to Drink Music To ’17, Romantic Chemistry, Punkin Ale and Post-Boil IPA, a new winter offering.
Also, throughout the year, the company will offer what it calls “occasional” offerings, including perennial favorites like Olde School Barleywine, Festina Peche and 120 Minute IPA, as well as the newly bottled Lupu-luaü IPA.
Dogfish Head’s collaboration with Victory and Stone Brewing, Saison du BUFF, as well as Oak-aged Vanilla World Wide Stout and Pennsylvania Tuxedo will also be made available for limited times throughout the year.
In a video posted to the company’s Facebook page, Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione said the brewery released 32 different beers in 2016. The company’s current 2017 plan calls for 20 releases, but the calendar doesn’t include its “alternative take” series of draft-only offerings that are also planned for next year.
Dogfish Head is also planning a number of collaborative brews, Calagione said in the video.
View Dogfish Head’s complete 2017 release calendar.