Bucket’s big new brew

On Saturday [11.1], Bucket Brewery will unveil 9 Men’s Misery — it’s their first IPA release, and a hefty imperial take on the style.

The Bucket’s Nate Broomfield filled us in: “The name is taken from the country’s oldest veteran’s memorial, in Cumberland. The English colonists were fighting the Narragansetts in King Philip’s War in 1676. The Narragansetts  won this battle and took 10 prisoners; nine met very unpleasant ends. The tenth was freed to tell the tale.

“The beer has nine hop additions in the boil, plus a 10th dry hop addition to represent the English colonists. A selection of all British malts was also used; flaked maize is used to represent the Narragansetts. The ABV is 7.6% and the beer has 76 IBUs to represent the year of the battle, 1676.”

9 Men’s Misery will be available during the usual hours [11 am-5 pm; tastings are $5; tours are at 2, 3, and 4 pm and include a tasting and a Bucket pint glass; Bucket is at 100 Carver St in Pawtucket]. To enhance the celebration, members of the Barn Burners String Band will perform and the Noble Knots and Rocket food trucks will be serving their deliciousness. And everyone can try 9 Men’s Misery for free!

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‘Gansett’s new mashup is . . .

On Thursday, the folks at Narragansett Beer tweeted, “you have no idea what you’re in for tomorrow. be prepared for a very unproductive work day…#TheStarsAreRight”

Well, “tomorrow” is today, and what you’re in for is a puzzle that will provide the details of their next mashup [it’s no coincidence that the news is out on Halloween], the follow-up to the mega-popular collabs with Autocrat — the Coffee Milk Stout, whose second seasonal release is in stores now — and the Del’s Shandy, which was a scorching-hot item this summer. [The official announcement will be made next week.]

Go to the ‘Gansett website or Facebook page to start the deciphering. It shouldn’t take you too long . . . .

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Welcome Baxter Brewing

It’s a BIG day for beer ’round here. We’ve already noted the Night of Darkness at Track 84 and the releases of Flotsam & Brettsam at Grey Sail [see “So, where were we?”] and Proclamation Ale‘s two new brews [see “Proclamation Ale announces expansion”].

Now add meet-and-greets with Luke Livingston, the CEO of Baxter Brewing, which debuted in Rhode Island this week. Luke made his first beers in his dorm room at Clark University, ran BlogAboutBeer.com for almost four years, and went pro when the Lewiston, Maine-based company released its first in 2011; they were the first New England craft company to put all of its beer in cans. Livingston’s love of beer is matched by his dedication to environmental sustainability: “As a business owner, [I try] to have the least amount of negative impact on our world as I can,” he told Mother Nature Network [go here for the entire enlightening interview].

You can get a sampling of their fine fare in the Baxter Backpack, which features its year-round Pamola Xtra Pale Ale [4.9% ABV], Tarnation California-Style Lager [5.3%], Stowaway IPA [6.9%], and the savory seasonal Phantom Punch Winter Stout [6.8%], made with vanilla beans and cocoa nibs. And you can try a few of those brews and talk allll about beer and eco-friendly brewing with Luke tonight at 7 pm at Broadway Bistro [205 Broadway, Providence], and at Harry’s Bar & Burger [121 North Main St, Providence] at 8:30 pm. He will also be at tastings at Town Wine & Spirits in East Providence today from 5-7 pm and at Bottles on Friday from 4-7 pm . [You can also sample Baxter’s brews today from 5-7 pm at Countryside Liquors in Pawtucket, at High Spirits on Friday from 5-7 pm [tasting cancelled, info updated on 10.30 @ 5:43 pm], and at a Halloween bash at the Wild Colonial.]

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Proclamation Ale announces expansion

This great news just in from Dave Witham at Proclamation Ale Company:

“The day is finally (almost) upon us.

“We’re expanding. (yay!)

“Since the beginning, it was pretty apparent that this day would come (and hopefully sooner than later). Between the demand from the local market, as well as the non-sustainability of a nanobrewery due to lack of state tasting room laws (that’s a whole other discussion), this day had to come. So here’s the deal:

“Expansion will happen in mid-January. The expansion is a bit of a strange one:  On one hand we will be making some upgrades to the brewery: changes to the brewing system, slowly acquiring larger fermenters and adding a lot more oak barrels for aging. In addition to this, we will be moving the production of Tendril out to contract brew at a MUCH larger facility. We will begin by doing a 60-barrel batch in early January and slowly ramping up the production of Tendril out from there…For comparison’s sake, we make about 3-barrel batches currently…so…yeah…a lot bigger. Oh and did I mention that besides having draft available all the time, you will (hopefully by March) be able to buy…CANS??? (oh snap!).

“So what will we be doing at the current facility? First off, increasing production at our current brewery and taking Tendril out to a different facility will allow us to do a lot more fun stuff.  We will be making much more one-off and seasonal beers, so more stuff in the tasting room and growlers. We will also be bottling a lot more large format bottles, a bunch of which we hope will make it out to local retail accounts so you can grab some of our specialty stuff out in your local stores. Among these bottles, there will be a lot more Brett and Sour beers! We have already started loading up oak barrels at the brewery in preparation for increasing our sour program (these things take time!).

“So that’s pretty much it. We’re excited. We hope you’re excited. We will announce more stuff in the coming weeks/months and give everyone more details on what’s going on…”

To celebrate the Big News, Proclamation will be open on Thursday [10.30] from 4-7 pm [plus the regular Saturday session from 1-5] and will break out two new brews: the Son of Sim [“a very Simcoe-heavy IPA,” 6.5% ABV, available in 32-ounce growlers and for tastings] and Plattelander Rood [“our funky red saison, brewed on New Year’s Day of 2014, this beer was fermented out and then aged in Pinot Noir barrels for six months with Brettanomyces. We bottled it and then allowed it to bottle-condition and age for another couple months”; in 500ml bottles/$7]. Also on tap: Batch 2 of Plattelander [750ml bottles/tastings] and Tendril, the deliriously good flagship IPA [growlers/tastings].

Congrats, Dave! I can’t wait to get cans of Tendril in the fridge . . . . And maybe it’s time to update the slogan: “BIGGER beer from a small state.”

So, where were we?

After three years in the now-defunct Providence Phoenix, Bottles & Cans & Just Clap Your Hands is now digital and mostly-daily, with news on Rhode Island breweries and bars, events, and the freshest releases from our own backyahd and beyond. Send info, musings, and feedback to bottlescansclaphands@yahoo.com.

Follow on Twitter @BottlesCansRI for post updates and other tidbits. And dig into the Bottles & Cans archives [while they last] at providence.thephoenix.com.

OK, let’s roll out some news:

Grey Sail’s Flotsam & Brettsam

On Thursday [10.30], Grey Sail will launch its Little Swell Series with Flotsam and Brettsam. It was described in the Beervana program as an IPA “aged in Jonathan Edwards cabernet franc barrels with brettanomyces for at least six months.” This batch was dry-hopped in the barrel with Mosaic hops. The “extremely limited” run of 16.9-ounce bottles will be available from 5-9 pm at the brewery [63 Canal Street, Westerly; greysailbrewing.com].

Make a night of it: go to Westerly early so you can hit Track 84 [84 Kilvert St, Warwick] for Night of Darkness. The pre-Halloween gathering kicks off at 7 pm and will feature an alluring array of stouts, porters, black lagers, and black IPAs, including Foolproof’s Raincloud Porter [on cask with vanilla and cocoa nibs], Grey Sail’s Dark Star [a Belgian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels], Uinta’s Baba Black Lager, Ithaca’s Embrr [a new rye porter], the Muddy [an imperial stout brewed with molasses, licorice, and Belgian dark rock candy sugar] from Goose Island, Founders’ Imperial Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin, and the ultra-rare Founders’ Kentucky Breakfast Stout [to be tapped at 8 pm].

Newport Storm continues to mix it up with two new limited releases. Mass HysteRIa is a double IPA [8% ABV] aged in oak barrels, with an intriguing hop blend [including Cluster, the first US-cultivated hop, and Orbit from New Zealand]. Only 1200 or so 22-ounce bottles are in stores now. And Wham! Bam! Van Damme is a Belgian pale ale [8% ABV]; it’s based on the recipe used for Sabrina, which appeared in the Cyclone Series in 2011. It’s the brewery’s first four-pack release and should hit shelves any day now.

Revival Brewing has unleashed Burnsider Pale Ale [5.5% ABV] in bottles. Check the Revival’s Brewmaster page [and your fave packy] for updates.

And Narragansett Beer has expanded its footprint in a big way — the brew is now available in Portland, Oregon and Chattanooga, Tennessee. “Portland really aligns with where we see our consumer, which is basically a craft drinker when they want a domestic lager,” ‘Gansett prez Mark Hellendrung told Brewbound. It’s clear that the folks at the Jupiter Hotel in Portland are fully embracing the Rhody brew’s arrival: