Top 10 new craft beer releases

We round up some of the most interesting craft beer releases announced in recent weeks, including a pair of breakfast-themed brews and an homage to Game of Thrones.

Dude’s Brews, “Canna-Beer series”, Colorado, US

Dude’s Brews, the packaged-beer arm of Colorado-based Dad & Dude’s Breweria, will launch its Canna-Beer series in the autumn comprising a range of “CBD-rich, cannabis-infused” beers.

The line of beers will be heavily dosed with cannabidoil – also known as CBD – a substance extracted from the cannabis plant and which is known for its “non-psychoactive health benefits”, including stress relief.

Dubbed the “world’s first” high-strength cannabis-infused beer, its launch follows the legalisation of cannabis in the state of Colorado in January.

The range’s first beers, Sativa IPA and Indica double IPA, will debut at the Great American Beer Festival in September.

Style: IPA / Double IPA

ABV: 5% / 10%

Release: US-wide, autumn 2015

Hardknott Brewery, “Nuclear Sunset”, Cumbria, UK

Earlier this month a British brewery released a beer to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and promote “nuclear peace”.

Released by Cumbrian brewery, Hardknott, “Nuclear Sunset” has been launched in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” on the two Japanese cities on 6 and 9 August 1945. Nearly 130,000 people died as a result and many thousands more were left horribly injured and sick from radiation.

The brewery’s founder, David Bailey, used to be an engineer at the Sellafield nuclear reactor plant and he said that while supportive of nuclear power, nuclear weapons and their destructive potential “distressed” him.

“Crisp and refreshing”, it has been brewed with orange peel and nutmeg to give it a spice and citrus “edge”. Speaking to the drinks business, Bailey said production would be limited for now but he hoped that if it proved successful it could join the regular line-up of beers in the Hardknott range.

Style: Wheat beer

ABV: 4.7%

Release: Available in bottle and keg and a little in casks for local pubS

New Belgium Brewing Company, “Err on the Side of Awesome”, Fort Collins, Colorado, US

Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing is teaming up with California-based The Rare Barrel to produce an all sour beer company named Beers with Vrienden.

Its first sour blend, named “Err on the Side of Awesome”, will be presented at The Rare Barrel in mid-September, just in time for San Francisco’s Tour de Fat stop on September 19. The name is a hat tip to their beer-making motto.

“An old, wise man once said, “it would behoove you to err on the side of caution.” We replied, “sorry we’re not sorry, but we make sour beer and prefer to err on the side of awesome”, said Jay Goodwin, co-founder of The Rare Barrel.

Style: Sour

Release: Mid September 

ABV: 7%

Upslope Brewing Company, “Blood Orange Saison”, Boulder, Colorado, US

Upslope Brewing Company will release its Blood Orange Saison this week, the sixth release in the brewery’s seasonal limited release series.

The brew has been made using Mandarina Bavaria hops, blood oranges and pink peppercorns giving a unique, citrus flavour.

“Over the past year we brewed a number of experimental saisons, but found ourselves looking back at this tap room favorite for inspiration,” said Upslope’s head brewer Sam Scruby. “I’m excited to showcase this hop variety paired with such an intricate and interesting yeast strain. The pink peppercorns and blood oranges amplify the spicy and dry saison character, giving us a wonderful bouquet of flavors.”

Style: Saison

Release: Available throughout Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana in 12 oz cans from 26 August

ABV: 6% 

21st Amendment Brewery, “Toaster Pastry”, San Francisco, US

San Francisco’s 21st Amendment is set to release a breakfast-inspired India-style red ale, that’s an homage to the Pop Tart – the sugary, breakfast treat.

The brewery is based in San Leandro in a facility that was once used by the Kellogs to make frosted flakes and Pop Tarts, hence the brewery’s decision to make a breakfast-themed beer.

Style: India style red ale

Release: 29 August

ABV: 7.6%

Fulton and General Mill, “HefeWheaties”, Minneapolis, US

If a  Pop Tart beer wasn’t enough breakfast for your beer, there is now a beer inspired by the self-proclaimed “breakfast of champions”, Wheaties.

The cereal has teamed up with Minneapolis-based craft brewery Fulton in Minneapolis to create a limited-edition Hefeweizen beer, called HefeWheaties.

Unfortunately the beer doesn’t actually include any Wheaties, but contains over 50% malted wheat as is typical of a Hefeweizen – a south German-style of wheat beer.

“We’ll see how people react to it,” said Fulton’s Ryan Petz, the brewery’s president and co-founder. “If it’s something everybody loves, we’ll obviously consider doing it again in a bigger and more widely distributed way in the future.”

Style: Hefeweizen beer

Release: 26 August, Minneapolis only.

ABV: Not known

Brewery Ommegang, “Game of Thrones gift pack”, Cooperstown, New York, US

Brewery Ommegang has re-released its first two Game of Thrones beers – Iron Throne Blonde Ale and Take the Black Stout – as part of a gift pack which includes a branded glass.

These two beers have since been followed by three other Games of Thrones-inspired Ommegang ales – Fire and Blood, Valar Morghulis and Three-Eyed Raven. Each beer in the series was initially released to the market only for a limited time, starting in 2013.