Birrificio Montegioco Bran Reserva

This is the barrel aged version of a delicious strong brown ale, Bran, which will also be available soon. Bran is crafted with a blend of 12 different malts and weighs in at a hefty 8.5%. Montegioco is a small Italian microbrewery established in 2005, when Riccardo Franzosi decided to turn his hobby into a profession and make beer full time. Bran Reserva is aged in Italian Barbera casks for over six months. Barbera is a primarily Italian varietal from the Piedmont, but has seen increased use in California of late. It is a hearty medium bodied grape that is soft on the tannins and very structured and balanced.

I have not had a chance to try the Bran Reserva yet, but the Bran is brimming with body and flavor. It is a deep and very rich beer that imparts a huge proportion of port like flavors with a huge dose of dark fruits, brown sugar, anise and more than a hint of alcohol. The time in the Barbera casks will likely add a nice tannic structure as well as some nice ripe and dark fruit flavors to accompany and counteract the raisiny sweetness and alcohol a touch. This as well as many of the other new Italian arrivals are certainly worth a try, as Italy is seeing a huge brewing revival and are starting to crank out some high quality craft brews.

Southern Tier Brewing

Some of you may have already heard the exciting news, Southern Tier Brewing Company is coming to Minnesota. Southern Tier is based out of Lakewood, New York, and has been brewing since 2004. Phineas “Phin” DeMink and Allen “Skip” Yahn brew a wide range of brews, and some fantastic year round offerings in 6 and 12 packs. Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale (an American Pale Ale), IPA and Porter are available year round in various 12 oz formats, and their seasonals Old Man(an old ale), Harvest (an American Pale ale/Bitter style beer), and Hop Sun (an American Wheat), rotate in with their respective seasons.

As with all breweries Southern Tier also makes a few delicious specialty beers available in 22oz bomber bottles. The first is Heavy Weizen, an Imperial American Wheat beer that is unfiltered. The second is Big Red, an Imperial Red Ale that showcases the spicy and unrivaled character of Hallertau hops. The third beer in this line is Jah-va, an Imperial Stout brewed with Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee. The final beer in this series is my absolute favorite from this amazing brewery, and it is their Unearthly Imperial IPA. This beer screams citrus hops, with a nice touch of a floral aromatic on the nose and a beautifully balanced malt backbone with a touch of alcohol and roasted biscuity sweetness.

Short's Brewing Company expanding.  Help bring them to Minnesota!

[This entry written by Jeffrey Halvorson]

For those that remember the first Autumn Brew Review in late summer 2001, we were treated to the beers of a budding brewer from a now defunct brewpub in Jackson Michigan.  His name was Joe Short and his beers were Jackson 5 I.P.A. and Nicie Spicie. Since then Joe has started his own successful brewpub, Short's Brewing Company, in Bellaire Michigan and with a recent expansion is looking to distibute his beers outside of his home state.  Vote to bring his beers to Minnesota by following the 'Vote your Short's' link on their website.