Black IPAs of Sweden, A Moment of Clarity release party and changing a name of a beer, even if you’re Not Guilty! – Weekly Brewery Update

In this week’s brewery update we’re excited about how well two of our Black IPAs are performing in Sweden and look forward to the release party of A Moment of Clarity, GBG Beer Week 2017. We also look at what it takes to change the name of a beer name, even if you’re Not Guilty!

Living the dream.

Every now and again I run into the brewery to shoot some photos. There’s usually a glass or two filled with beer standing around, as the brewers do some tastings, check the gravity, the fermentation, etc. Every now and again I catch them in the act, which allows me to take some photos with people in for our website. This month it’s Axel’s turn to grace the start page of our website.

Not a lot of jobs where you get to taste beer during working hours 😉 Which seems like all brewers are living the dream. Have said that, we posted an article on our Facebook page about why Gothenburg is the most Sociable City. If you missed it, I’ve posted a link below. Apparently, “… the bars here were excelling in the alternative drinks scene long before Londoners learned to say “Craft Beer” 🙂

Black IPA of Sweden.

This week had very happy news. Four of our Black IPAs have made it to the Top 15 in the Black IPA category in Sweden. Two have them are number one and two. Thank you to everyone that has tried them and rated them so high. The first one is our own Black IPA with Cascade & Columbus Hops. It’s number 07 in our beer library, which means we’ve had it from the very beginning. The second one is Sabotage, our collaboration with O|O Brewing.

On Monday I also took some photos of Sally our Swedish Sales rep, who was tasting a batch of Black IPA. If you’d like to get in touch with him to order these beers to your pub or restaurant, then you can do so here or you can email him directly.

“An emerging beer style roughly defined as a beer with IPA-level hopping relatively high alcohol and a distinct toasty dark malt character. Typically lacks the roastiness and body of a strong stout and is hoppier than a strong porter. Expressive dry-hopping is common. Also called India Dark Ale, India Black Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, Dark IPA and sometimes India Brown Ale.”

Two of the four beers in the Top 15 are still in production, and available to purchase at Systembolaget in Sweden. So if you haven’t tried them yet, there’s still time. We’ve also exported our fair share of the beers, so they’re out in the market right now.

What’s in a name?

In November last year, we had Cervisiam from Norway over at our Kungssten Brewery for a collaboration. The beer of choice was a 7,5% IPA with the addition of Orange Peel, which is why we named it Not Guilty! The OJ IPA, as a little bit of a fun statement.

It was very well received in the market, especially on export in the can, and at the Beerbliotek Tap Room, that we decided to submit it to Systembolaget in Sweden, to allow more people in Sweden to also try it.

The good news is that it will be released at Systembolaget on April 1. The bad news is that we were told by them to change the name. Which we did. It is now called Not Guilty! The Juice IPA 😉

Not Guilty! The Juice IPA.

A Moment of Clarity. GBG Beer Week 2017.

Talking about name changes, here’s one more. After the great success by Stigbergets GBG Beer Week 2016, we decided to give our 2017 version a name. A Moment of Clarity. GBG Beer Week 2017. It’s a bit of homage to Stigbergets, in that it was a moment of clarity for us, when we realised the task at hand.

This last week packaged the final cans and kegs that will be released in the coming week. Remember, if you would like to try the beer before everyone else gets their hands on it, then you can join us at the Beerbliotek Tap Room for a tasting on Thursday the 16th of March. The beer will be released to pubs and restaurants on the 17th of March as well as at Systembolaget. So you can order it to your closest store.

And finally

We’ve been focussing very hard on brewing great beer, and moving a lot of them from bottles to cans. We’re happy with how the markets have accepted our cans. So expect a lot more beer in cans. All changes in a brewery do not come without their challenges. We’ve had one or two hiccups with the canning line, but those now seem to be firmly behind us.

This coming week we’re looking forward to the start of the GBG Beer Week 2017. There’s a few places left for the Beermakers Brunch at Tapasbaren as well as the Beermakers Lunch at Restaurant Project. We’re also looking forward to our hometown Gothenburg Beer and Whisky Fair.

That’s it from us for now. Until next week.

/ darryl