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Green Bench Brewing to release four Russian imperial stouts

When Green Bench Brewing of Saint Petersburg is quiet, it usually means that head brewer Khris Johnson is up to something. In this case, it is several somethings.

Green Bench Brewing is currently pre-selling tickets for four bottles of the Russian Imperial Stout “Russian Mail Order Bride.” Tickets are available here.

From Green Bench:

On Saturday, February 21st Green Bench is releasing a package of 4 beers, sold together, that were all aged and treated differently. The base of this beer was meant to showcase an American interpretation of the Russian Imperial Style.

While our version is dryer and more assertively roast forward in comparison to many Russian Imperial Stouts, we didn’t want to lose the bold, big bodied characteristics that we adore from the style. In addition to the base Russian Mail Order Bride we decided to play around with a couple of different barrels for aging purposes, in this case Apple Brandy and Tequila. What we found were very exciting new characteristics developed that were subtle, but all together very different from the base. In fact, we found that the best way to pick out the flavors in the barrel aged versions was to directly compare them with a blend of the two. We wanted to provide all of these beers in a way that encourages you to taste the delicate nuances of each version.

So, what you’ll be getting in this pre-order is:

One 750ml bottle of the base Russian Mail Order Bride
One 750ml bottle of the Russian Mail Order Apple Brandy Barrel Aged
One 750ml bottle of the Russian Mail Order Tequila Barrel Aged
One 750ml bottle of the Russian Mail Order blended (2 barrel) Aged

We’re offering this pre-order release event package at $60 total (a $10 discount from what we’ll be retailing these for in our tasting room). We’re only selling 350 packages total in this pre-order and each person will be limited to a quantity of 3.

At the release day event we’ll be opening at 11am, an hour before we release bottle sales to the public so that you can:

a.) Pick up your pre-ordered bottles, and
b.) Order up discounted pours of each beer on tap in the tasting (limited supply).

Your pre-order receipts is your ticket to the release event!

P.S. If you cannot make it to the release event, we’ll hold your bottle orders for a total of 4 weeks to give you time to pick them up.

Tampa Bay Brewing Company

Apparition Belgian Tripel sighting on Black Friday

This week on Black Friday marks the release of the first 750mL bottle in the history of Tampa Bay Brewing Company. Unlike other bottle releases, this beer was not originally made to be bottled, but like so many beers, this one has evolved and changed much from grain and recipe to glass.

What is Apparition?

When head brewer David Doble made this beer, it was originally a special batch of beer, but he had no intention of doing a bottle release. Tampa Bay Brewing Company is releasing their Apparition Belgian Tripel this week to commemorate the death of former TBBC brewer John Doble. John Doble died in a house fire in April of 2003.

“Every year on the anniversary of Johnny’s death, I usually give the brewing staff the day off and just come in and brew,” says Doble. “This year, I brewed the Belgian Tripel, and when it came out it was hot and we knew that this would get better with some aging.” Doble produced seven barrels of the beer and decided to age it for an undetermined time. That aging would take several months, and since the beer was selling well, Doble pulled off three kegs of the Belgian style tripel. After tasting it again and seeing how well the beer had evolved, Doble decided to bottle and release it to locals.

“With our success and the upcoming expansion, I felt it was time to tell John’s story. I felt that this beer, his favorite style, was a good start.” The beer will be released on November 28th, Black Friday, which is John’s birthday. This batch yielded 120 bottles of tripel and Doble decided to treat those who bought a bottle to a celebration at the TBBC Pub. A bottle of Apparition Tripel and an invitation to the release party will cost $24.

What to expect from Apparition?

Florida Beer News was fortunate enough to sample Apparition Belgian Tripel. The beer pours a clear yellow with a white head. The aroma is one of sweet apples, sweet malted barley, fruit, mild banana, and some yeast. The flavor hits the palate with sweet malt, sugar, some banana and fruity notes with the yeast trying to dry the beer out a bit at the finish. It is a great example of this Belgian style and dangerously drinkable for a 9% beer.

For more information on the beer or to purchase tickets, see Tampa Bay Brewing Company.