12 Beers of Christmas to Begin Dec. 12th

On December 12th for 12 days straight, Flossmoor Station Brewery will release a one-of-a-kind, completely unique beer especially for that day. We will tap the beer when we open and when it is finished, we’ll have the next day to look forward to!

On the first day of Christmas my brewery gave to me…

Tappings!! (Finally)

The dates for the remaining two tappings for the year are set (finally!)

December 17th at 8pm we will be tapping "CHAOS!!!" A Belgian-style IPA

December 22nd at 8pm we will be tapping "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" - Holiday Ale

CHAOS!!!
Belgian-style IPA - 7.1%

This is a diversion from the American IPAs we have been putting out there. Actually, the inspiration for this beer comes from a west coast brewery that put out this insanely bitter, not very (hop) aromatic, light colored Belgian-style beer. This one was to be done at the Station! What we get is a light colored "IPA" that has most of the hops added at the beginning of the boil giving an intense and lingering bitterness. The flavor and aroma additions were small and gave a slight balance to the first hop addition. We have let the yeast do a lot of the talking with the additional flavors of this beer. As the name implies, CHAOS!!! was born into chaos, and has lived its short life in it since. From failed coolant pumps and rousing yeast to stalled fermentation and a very stubborn yeast, this beer has been a volatile handful. Delicious with an attitude. Give this one two sips before passing judgment, it may spill itself on you out of spite.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag
Belgian-style Holiday Ale ~8.0%

Santa's bag will have new goodies inside if he ever gets a taste of one of these! Not your typical holiday ale, we have left out the usual suspects (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...) in favor of some lighter spices which will allow the yeast flavors to come through more cleanly. To get a light citrus flavor to our beer, we have mashed with orange and lemon peel along with a subtle amount of coriander. During the boil we added fresh ginger to accentuate the spicy phenols produced by the yeast. A nice red hue, this one is sure to warm the belly.

Killer Wood is almost out!

The current offering in the Barrel-aged line-up, Killer Wood, is in its final days at the Station. This smooth, silky, bourbon blast was certainly a treat. I am sure that the next one will be even better received. Anno Unum, an unblended sour red ale, will be on tap to ease the KW absence. This is the same beer that has poured at the Great Taste of the Midwest and the 2009 FoBAB. Look for it in the coming week!

New Bourbon Aged Beer on Tap

Killer Kapowski aged 5 months in an oak bourbon barrel (9%) is now pouring under the name "Killer Wood". Delish.

New Stout Pouring Now

Devout Stout (Oatmeal Stout) has been tapped and is currently pouring. This opaque black stout has plenty of roasted malts to keep the chill away. Medium-bodied and moderately hopped, this beer has hints of coffee and earthy flavors. At 5.5%, there may just well be some devout followers of this one! A tip of the hat to Richard Grant, our Assistant Brewer for coming up with this tasty treat.

Black Magic Bottles Now Available

The bottles of Black Magic have rolled off the line and currently available at the brewery with black metallic wax. They should be available shortly at stores in the Chicagoland area soon.

Bottles, bottles, and more bottles....

Black Magic IPA will be in bottles starting Tuesday, November 10th. They will have a Black Metallic wax.

We have in our fermentation tanks a "bottle-only" release beer, and as the release suggests will not be sold on draft. It is called "Hi-Fi Rye". Hi-Fi is a Rye Wine or for those who are all technical and such, a barley wine-style ale made with more than 50% rye malt. Ours happens to be 58% rye and hopefully will finish around 11%. This beer will be aged in stainless and bottled in February for a release of 55 cases. We are splitting this batch with some going into barrels for another bottle release this time next year with a bourbon aged version of Hi-Fi (~75 cases). Can't wait to enjoy this one.

New Bourbon Beer at the Station

Well, it appears all of the Barrel Aged Big Black Pumpkin has been consumed. That is certainly bittersweet as it was a great barrel aged offering. HOWEVER, not to disappoint, we are currently offering the Pullman's Reserve on draft. We took a Pullman Brown ale and aged it in a Bourbon barrel for five months. What we get out is an extremely complex, dark, delicious brew. Flavors of oak, bourbon, and Pullman Brown are equally represented and warm the belly at around 8%ABV. Get your snifter today.

Please note change.......

The IPA tapping date of Nov. 10th has been changed. The new date is Nov. 3rd. Thanks!

Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers Nov. 7th

If there are any Bourbon barrel-aged beer fans out there don't miss this fest. The event is November 7th and consists of two sessions. Info here http://www.illinoisbeer.com/ There will be beers from all over the country from the top breweries. Awards will be given at the evening session for the top honors. Flossmoor will feature 4 beers (all aged in bourbon barrels): Anno Unum Belgian-style Sour, Pullman's Reserve Brown Ale, Killer Kapowski Baltic Porter, and the Big Black Pumpkin. Proceeds from the event go to fund the Illinois Brewer's Guild so come out and support all of Illinois' breweries! See you there.

Beer: Breakfast Beverage???

We are going to be releasing out King Wheat Hefeweizen on Saturday, November 14th at 10:00 AM. This will be our second Hefeweizen Breakfast and we are pleased to be having it again. We will feature a menu with items suited for a German-style breakfast and for an American-style breakfast as well.

Mark the date and time as we will also be releasing the last 24 bottles of Ovation! There will be 24 bottles available at 10AM to the first persons to get them. I am crying a small tear that there is so little available!

Black Magic IPA Tapping!

The newest IPA is in the tanks and ready for dry-hopping. The date has been set for Tuesday, November 3rd at 8pm. This newest IPA is a twist on the style purely for the sake of being different. The Black Magic IPA, as the name implies, is going to have the look of a stout and the taste of a regular IPA. It will be dry-hopped with Chinook only yielding a piney, resinous, and lingering bitterness. We will update the post with the ABV when it is done fermenting. Check back to find out!

Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Black Pumpkin

It has finally come to the season that I love the most - Bourbon Beer season. The temps have just cooled enough that these monsters-in-a-snifter can be quaffed. We will be featuring bourbon aged beers throughout the fall, winter, and maybe spring (if they last.) Initially, we will be rolling out the beers that were in barrels when I arrived. I have a few of my own in the basement, but still a little young. When we keg up all the barrels we have to fill them up again so there is an abundant supply. Here are the stats on the first beer. Hope you enjoy.

Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Black Pumpkin (B4P)

ABV: ~9%

Style: Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter aged in Bourbon Barrels

Description: Pours inky black with brown foam. Aromas are complex with tart, cardamom spice, and bourbon most prevalent. Initial tartness in flavor yields to subtle chocolate and pumpkin spice finish. Slight alcohol warming after drinking.

Sizes Avail: - Snifter ONLY.

PS - LET THE BEER WARM SLIGHTLY BEFORE DRINKING. As the beer warms up, more of the base beer style comes through like the pumpkin and spices. Until then, the bourbon and oak flavors dominate. Remember also this is a bourbon barrel aged beer - flavors of the base beer fade over time, and new interesting ones emerge. Please don't be disappointed if there is just hints of what the beer was before it went into the barrel.

IPA in bottles and CE '09

Just a quick post to let everyone know that our IPA (Hop Huffer) is down to the last couple of cases and will soon be sold out. So get the bottles while you can! However, it will still be on tap in the pub for you to enjoy! Speaking of on tap, we are also down to our very last keg of Collaborative Evil '09 in the pub. Once that goes it will only be available in bottles.

Ruby Brown Munich Dunkel Tapping

The next tapping will take place October 20th, 8pm. We will be releasing our "Ruby Brown" Munich Dunkel (even though many of you have sampled Ms. Brown at previous Oktoberfest events across the city!) This deep copper/brown lager has aromas and flavors of chocolate, roast malts, and a classic lager finish. The body is medium to light and tips the abv scale at 6%. Can't wait to see you all again.

Bryan

ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!! ATTENTION!!

There WILL NOT be any of the Ovation bottles for sale preceding out Oktoberfest due to our labels not receiving approval in time. We will still be having this release pending the approval of the label, and I will announce it at the next tapping as well as on the blog. Please let us say we are truly sorry for this snafu.

There WILL BE plenty of Collaborative Evil '09 for sale beginning at 10am for Mug Club Members and at 11am for the general public. Can't wait to see everyone.

Upcoming Tapping

The next tapping will on Tuesday the 29th of Sept. We will be tapping the Hop Huffer IPA, a wet hop IPA (Chinook, Ahtanum) clocking in at around 8% abv. We look forward to seeing you there. Now, we are headed out to the GABF. Keep your fingers crossed that we win a medal!

Cystic Fibrosis event at the new HALF ACRE brewery

If anyone is looking for a good excuse to drink and support a good cause, check out the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the benefit happening at Half Acre Oct 2nd 7:30 -10:30 at 4257 N Lincoln Ave. We'll be there!

Dark Matter has arrived at the Station

There is nothing hypothetical about the Dark Matter that has ended up in the serving tank at Flossmoor. This 9.5% Russian Imperial Stout is rich and complex with coffee, dark chocolate, and slightly burnt tones. The hops are mostly for balance in this intense, big stout. medium to full-bodied with a gentle alcohol warming. Some of this stout will be kegged on coffee beans and re-released when the icicles are forming off our noses. Enjoy some now!

Wet Hops!

Brewed the wet hop IPA today. Fresh, delicious hops brought to us straight from the vine (Chinook hop variety). Smells great....