It’s not a national holiday, at least not yet. But that doesn’t stop people from celebrating. National Beer Day is today. The day is historically relevant because it commemorates the date in 1933, when the Cullen-Harrison Act, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt, went into effect. That allowed beer to once again be legally manufactured and sold in this country. Enough states then approved the 21st Amendment later that year to formally bring an end to Prohibition, which started in 1919. So, while National Beer Day isn’t a national holiday, it doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate. Peaks and Pints presents a to-go craft beer flight of the nation jacked up on coffee. Your six pack holder will board on the East Coast and continue the coffee buzz until reaching in the Hawaiian Islands. Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: National Beer Day Buzz On the Fly is ready to board.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: National Beer Day Buzz On the Fly
Decadent Mocha Latte
8% ABV
NEW YORK: Our national tour of coffee beers begins in Mamaroneck, New York, where mad scientist brewer Paul Pignataro experiments at his Decadent Ales. His Mocha Latte is actually a double IPA brewed with coffee and chocolate. It pours a rich scent of cake batter, coffee, chocolate, cream, vanilla and tropical fruit round the nose in great anticipation of the creamy sweet, cereal maltiness that coats the tongue with robust coffee, chocolate and cream flavor that shifts the taste to a blond latte taste.
Off Color Coffee Dino S’mores
10.5% ABV, 40 IBU
CHICAGO: John Laffler of Goose Island and Dave Bleitner of Two Brothers opened Off Color Brewing in March 2013. At the brewery’s launch party, a local pastry chef cooked up a batch of dinosaur-shaped s’mores for munching; these treats provided the inspiration for an imperial stout Off Color would later brew in collaboration with Danish brewer Amager Bryghus and venerable Windy City bottle shop West Lakeview Liquors. Coffee Dino S’mores has the original ingredients — flavored with marshmallow fluff, molasses, vanilla beans, graham flour and cocoa nibs — plus coffee.
Deschutes Luna Jo Cold Brew Coffee Lager
5.5% ABV, 25 IBU
OREGON: Deschutes Brewery’s Luna Jo Cold Brew Coffee Lager is a collaboration with Riff Cold Brewed, which is founded by Nate Armburst, one of Deschutes’ original interns from Oregon State University in the late 1990s. The Deschutes and Riff experimental brewing teams explored the space of beer and coffee combinations utilizing cold brew for a light-bodied, dark Mexican-style lager that pairs with vibrant coffee aromas and flavors of Riff’s Off The Cuff cold-brewed coffee.
Wander Earlybird Barrel-Aged Breakfast Stout
9.6% ABV, 120 IBU
WASHINGTON: Wander Brewing’s Earlybird Barrel-Aged Breakfast Stout awakens each fall after a long, deep slumber in freshly emptied bourbon barrels. They brew this imperial stout with housemade dulce de leche, oats, coffee, and lactose. How delicious is it? Earlybird won gold for Wood- and Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts at the Washington Beer Awards.
Maui Imperial Coconut Porter
9.4% ABV, 30 IBU
HAWAII: Our national tour of coffee beer ends on the island of Maui where the 2016 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Field Beer champion Imperial Coconut Porter is brewed. A deeper, more intense version of Maui Brewing Co.’s flagship Coconut Hiwa Porter, Imperial Coconut Porter is brewed with hand toasted coconut, and subtle hints of cacao and coffee. The rich, slightly sweet and malty ale utilizes seven different malts, including black and chocolate, as well as raw and toasted coconut. It pours with a dark tan head and drinks with a silky smooth, yet warming finish.
