Starting last Sunday, the 3rd, Northern Brewer's Sunday hours have been changed. We will now be open from 10 AM until 3 PM. This means that we now open each and every day at 10 AM (except Holidays). Our closing time on the weekdays is 7 PM while we close at 5 PM on Saturdays and 3 PM on Sundays.

WEEKLY SALES FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY
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As part of a new promotion, Northern Brewer has begun to offer weekly sales. Just as in our Weekly Fermenter e-mail, we will be offering the same sales through our retail store. These promotions will run from Tuesday to Tuesday each week, and will typically feature one wine-related product and one beer-related product. This week, we will be running one of our most popular sales: blow-out prices on four-packs of used kegs! Four used kegs, including a complete set of replacement o-rings for each keg will be only $115! For our wine-making customers, we are offering our Portuguese Floor Corkers at a discount of 10%.

Please check back with us next week and the week after (and the week after that...) to see what fabulous deals we have in store for you.

NEW AND RE-RELEASED BEER KITS
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Set to be released mid-month, the following is a preview of what's to come. We are releasing a few beers for the first time, while a few others are old friends that we just couldn't live without.

Due to their popularity, we are bringing a couple of beer kits back from the dead. Some of these kits were Limited releases and have been resurrected with a new yeast strain, while another was discontinued due to insufficient availability of an ingredient. Allow us to present, The Zombie Series:

Chinook IPA
You know it, you love it. This American IPA has a relatively modest gravity and an immodest hop character derived entirely from a single hop variety.

Peace Coffee Stout Porter
For those cold winter mornings - the stout porter has notes of black currants, black cherries, and cocoa with mouthfilling bready malt flavors.

Petite Saison D'eté
This session-strength Saison of summer pours tawny-gold and perfumes the air with tangy yeast and pungent hop aromas.

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And now to present a handful of brand new concoctions. The only theme: delicious. Happy Brew Year, from us to you!

Advantageous Weizenbock
Doppelbock brewed with a Dunkelweizen grist and yeast, or a Dunkelweizen brewed to Doppelbock strength: however you want to think of it, this potent Bavarian concoction is luxuriously rich, devastatingly strong, and complex with malt, fruit, and spice character. A base of Munich and wheat malts lays a foundation of sweet maltiness with overtones of toast and bread dough; saturated red color and notes of burnt caramel come from a small percentage of dark crystal malt. A traditional yeast strain gives fruitcake and spice character with cloves and dried plum aroma in abundance. This is a wheat beer for winter! For best results, prepare a yeast starter and cold condition for a few weeks before packaging.

John Q Adams Marblehead Lager
Brewers, patriots, countrymen: lend us your tankards. This golden-amber beer sports balanced hops and malt, noble aromas, and a clean finish. A complex but approachable mix of spicy German hops and ripe-fruit-sweet caramel malt interweave across your nose and palate from the first whiff to the last sip. An excellent session beer that still has enough going on in the glass for contemplative sipping if the mood should take you. It's technically not an ale, but we use Wyeast's California Lager yeast in this recipe so you can ferment it at ale temps and still achieve a clean, lager-like result.

Sierra Madre Pale Ale

All of you out there currently enjoying that chocolate Bourbon barrel Brettanomyces continuously wet-hopped Imperial black IPA, take a moment and say a silent “thank you” to the humble West Coast American Pale Ale. Sure, it might seem tame to your 21^st century craft beer sensibilities and sensory-overloaded palate, but back when Northern Brewer was four dudes and a 20-foot storefront, this style was the “extreme” beer – and it's still going strong. More than any other, this widely-imitated ale is responsible for bringing craft beer into the national consciousness and re-introducing America to real beer. Now it's a classic.

Decidedly clean, firmly hoppy, and drinkably bitter, this isn't an ale that feels the need to jump up and down and scream for your attention. From Chico, California to all points of the compass, whether you're pairing it with Mexican, burgers and fries, or just conversation, there's always a good time and a place for a good, basic pale ale.

Old Luddite
So you're a mid-level quill pusher whose employer doesn't think your comfort is worth the price of coal; or maybe you're a plucky young lad with crutches and a bleak orthodontical future by virtue of your British citizenship. But you can still enjoy a Dickensian holiday (at any time of year) with a big mug of Old Luddite - a tawny, malty strong ale in the English tradition. With its full, malty body and flavors of chocolate, toffee, dried fruit, and floral hops, a beer like this keeps the cold and damp at bay whether you're in Bristol or Bemidji.

Again, this is just a preview. These beers are set to be released in the middle of the month.

UPPER MISSISSIPPI MASH OUT
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We are pleased to announce that once again Northern Brewer will be sponsoring the Upper Mississippi Mash Out. Hosted by the St Paul Homebrewer's Club and the Minnesota Homebrewer's Association, This year's competition will be held on the 29th and 30th of January. Entries can be brought to Northern Brewer any time (during business hours) until January 18th. This year, all entries must be registered online and all bottles entered must have the appropriate entry forms attached (with a rubber band). Two bottles must be submitted per entry. Please refer to the Mash Out Website for further registration rules and procedures.

NEW LIMITED EDITION BEER KITS
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This quarter, we will be releasing four new beers designed specifically for quaffing. For the months of January, February and March, allow us to present: THE SESSION SERIES

Technically a session beer is a low-gravity beer of immense gluggability, but the parameters might be different depending on where you are: Oxfordshire, Antwerp, or Oregon. This round of Limited Edition kits is a collection of ales – some stronger, some lighter – that all taste like “one more.”

Broken Spear Bitter

The bitters of the River Thames stand on the fault line between the more malt-forward, fruity interpretations of Anglia and the drier, more firmly bitter bitters of London and the hop country of Kent. Fusing the complex of biscuit/caramel/dried citrus derived from British pale and crystal malt with the pungent floweriness that comes via the exuberant use of English hops, then transmuting the whole with a rich, estery yeast strain -- the draught ales of the rural Thames Valley are truly exemplary. Unfortunately, low gravity beers like these don't travel well, if they travel at all; if you want to experience an ale like this as the brewer meant it to taste, you'll have to fire up your kettle!

With a bantamweight ABV of only 3.4%, Broken Spear is modeled on a world-class standard bitter from the town of Oxfordshire in the Thames Valley. It arrives in the pint glass with a tawny color and fine, short-lived bead (because we don't want to waste that volume on foam, now, do we?). A true session beer that showcases fat, juicy malt ahead of snappy bitterness, and subtle tropical fruit behind a blend of fragrant, resiny hops. Dry hopping adds layers of earth and new-mown hay to the restrained fruitiness of the nose. Low alcohol? Yes. Bland? Oh heavens no. Serve at cellar temperature with fish and chips or a nice chunk of Stilton or Cheddar.

DK Belgian Pale Ale

Denmark? De Kooning? Discovery Kids? Donkey Kong? Not even close. Dead Kennedys? Never mind the bollekes. Somewhere stylistically and geographically between English pale ale and German Altbier you will find a russet-colored, standard gravity, top-fermented beer: Belgian pale ale. This is the standard lunchtime tipple in the cafes and pubs of Antwerp. Our inspiration for this recipe is a paragon of the style, the flagship beer of its brewery's portfolio.

DK is copper colored with a rocky white stand of froth and, at 5% abv, it's engagingly drinkable. Lucid levels of bright malt supported by kettle additions of nothing but Saaz hops and overlaid with yeast-derived complexity. Fruity with spicy overtones, hopped to balance, finishing malty but dry with a hint of toast and hop bitterness, entirely accessible but packed with intriguing layers of flavor. This everyday ale is just enough like other styles you've had to make it seem a little familiar, but at the same time it's like nothing else, either. This is a beer you could get lost in.

Serve at cellar temp in a stemmed goblet and pair with freshwater fish, shellfish, or sausages.

Grateful Dead Guy

While it's possible that drinking too much of this golden-red riff on the Maibock theme would lead to an itinerant life of tie dye, dangerous brownies, and electric kool aid acid tests, it's really not necessary to follow this ale around the country – you can brew it at home.

Pouring a burnished pale copper with white lacing, the aroma of Greatful Dead Guy is an extended jam of earthy, spicy hop and a malt character that expresses bread crust, toast, and caramelized sugar. The flavor brings more of the same, with clean malt and prominent hop leading to a hop-bitter finish cut with rich malt sweetness.

For best results prepare a yeast starter, oxygenate the wort, and keep the fermentation temps on the cool side. Afficionados and the little dancing bears will tell you that this ale is fantastic all by itself (and it is), but it's also a great partner for brined pork chops on the grill and Mexican with lots of hot sauce.

Twelfth Night Stout

This above all: to thine own self brew. Now is the winter of our ferment! And those now a-bed shall think themselves accurs'd and hold their manhood cheap while we drink of this ale without them on this Brew-day. Whoa, sorry ... beer is often credited with a general loosening of the tongue, and with enough of this beautifully-balanced American stout around, you might turn into a bard or something.

Jet black with a dense tan head (supported in part by flaked oats in the all-grain version), this ebony ale suffuses the senses with suggestions of citrus, chocolate, roasting coffee, burnt sugar, and dried fruit. An intense 70 IBUs of bitterness is offset by a full mouthfeel and a balancing final gravity. Your palate comes to wondering what just happened.

For best results prepare a yeast starter, oxygenate the wort, and keep the fermentation temps on the cool side. Drink this stout by itself or with some loquacious conversation, or match it up with some grass-fed steak.

NEW WYEAST PRIVATE COLLECTION STRAINS
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Presenting Wyeast's latest release of three yeasts. We expect these yeasts to begin arriving in our store by Friday Jan 8th:

1764 - Rogue Pacman
A versatile yeast strain from one of Oregon’s leading craft breweries. Pacman is alcohol tolerant, flocculent, attenuates well and will produce beers with little to no diacetyl. Very mild fruit complements a dry, mineral finish making this a fairly neutral strain. Pacman’s flavor profile and performance makes it a great choice for use in many different beer styles.

Wyeast 1882-PC Thames Valley II
This strain was originally sourced from a now defunct brewery on the banks of the river Thames outside of Oxford, England. Thames Valley II produces crisp, dry beers with a rich malt profile and moderate stone fruit esters. This attenuative strain is also highly flocculent resulting in bright beers not requiring filtration. A thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete.

Wyeast 3655-PC Belgian Schelde

From the East Flanders - Antwerpen region of Belgium, this unique top fermenting yeast produces complex, classic Belgian aromas and flavors that meld well with premium quality pale and crystal malts. Well rounded and smooth textures are exhibited with a full bodied malty profile and mouthfeel.

NEW WHITE LABS PLATINUM STRAINS
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Presenting White Labs' latest release of three yeasts. We expect these yeasts to begin arriving in our store by Friday Jan 8th:

022 - Essex Ale
Flavorful British style yeast. Drier finish than many British ale yeast. Produces slightly fruity and bready character. Good top fermenting yeast strain, is well suited for top cropping (collecting). This yeast is well suited for classic British milds, pale ales, bitters, and stouts.

038 - Machester Ale
Top-fermenting strain that is traditionally good for top-cropping. Moderately flocculent with a clean, dry finish. Low ester profile, producing a highly balanced English-style beer.

850 - Copenhagen Lager
Clean, crisp north European lager yeast. Not as malty as the southern European lager yeast strains. Great for European style pilsners, European style dark lagers, Vienna, and American style lagers.

Lastly, White Labs has decided to release it's popular Dusseldorf Altbier strain year-round.

036 - Dusseldorf Alt
Traditional Alt yeast from Dusseldorf, Germany. Produces clean, slightly sweet alt beers. Does not accentuate hop flavor as well as WLP029 does.

We'll see you next time you're in the store,
Cheers!

Northern Brewer
1150 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105
651-789-0189