In October 2008, Brian Ewing launched Twelve Percent Imports selling imported beer to New York out of his Toyota Prius. The first beer he imported was Gaverhopke Extra, a 12 percent Belgian ale, thus the name of his distributing company. Ewing began distributing an unusually heavy roster of gypsy brewers and contract brewed beer such as American Solera from Tulsa and Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. from East Hampton, Connecticut. He eventually partnered with Alex Blank to form Twelve Percent Beer Project, a contract brewing facility at State Street Brewing in North Haven, Connecticut. Many of Ewing and Blank artisan brewery clients don’t have a brewing facility or have a tiny brewhouse that can’t support large releases. The Twelve Percent Beer Project allows such breweries to brew at State Street. The operation is like an independent record label when Ewing and Blank help their artists create craft beer then promote them through their distributorship. Today, Peaks and Pints presents a to-go beer flight of Twelve Percent breweries that we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Twelve Percent Beer Flight.

Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Twelve Percent Beer Flight

Marlowe The Way Things Were

5.5% ABV

Marlowe Artisanal Ales is a labor of love from Zac Ross, an industry veteran with years of experience at top breweries like Voodoo Brewing Company and Kent Falls Brewing Company. The alehouse’s name and logo both come from Ross’ maternal grandfather, Marlowe — the logo is his signature, appropriated from a piece of music Marlowe composed for the wedding of Ross’s parents. He served as head brewer at Twelve Percent Beer Project. Ross set to work shaping his own brand, launching Marlowe Artisanal Ales in the fall of 2019. Marlowe’s thick, effervescent Vermont-style pale ale is reminiscent of the early original New England style pale ales. The hazy pale is brewed with Warrior, Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, and Simcoe hops for citrus fruit, mango, and melon up front and a good amount of hop bitterness and pine on the back end.

Lasting Brass Supreme Clientele

6.5% ABV

Lasting Brass Brewing Company opened in the Old Pin Shop in the Oakville section of Watertown, Connecticut, on December 3, 2016. The building was originally erected in 1729 by James Williams and used as a gristmill. From there the mill became the Oakville Pin Company. The pin business was very successful and later became a division of Scovill Manufacturing Company, the Waterbury-based brass company. For the previous decade, Waterbury native Ed Silva homebrewed to applause in southern New England. From the required hop-forward IPAs to creative holiday stouts to multi-year barreled sour projects, people begged Silva to open Lasting Brass. A nod to Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele album, this hazy IPA is smooth, hoppy, and juicy with mild dank notes and pronounced refreshing hop linger.

Fat Orange Cat Keep Yer Claws Sharp

6.8% ABV

Mike Klucznik and his wife, Sheila Mullen, opened farm brewery Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. in East Hampton, Connecticut, on Aug. 13, 2016. The longtime homebrewer Klucznik wasn’t a cat person until he met Mullen’s orange-and-white feline, Billy, whose memory now lives on with the brewery. Keep Yer Claws Sharp is a hazy IPA brewed with Vic Secret and Citra hops for strawberries and cream without the lactose and without the sweetness.

Fat Orange Cat Lorenzo The Beer Cat

8% ABV

This hazy double IPA is brewed with Galaxy and Citra hops for a hop forward aroma with a citrus note and an equally nebulous tropical note, along with some bright green herbs and pine. On the tongue, expect relatively high bitterness with notes of basil, oregano, orange, grapefruit, papaya, and cracker.

Abomination Love Letters From Hell

9.6% ABV

The New England breweries invented the milkshake IPA, which is a New England style IPA brewed with milk sugar and fruit. As a result of these ingredients, beers take on a smooth, delightful mouthfeel, similar to the sensation you’d expect in a milk stout. The addition of fruit can also inject tartness, tropical flavor, or candied sweetness into a beer. Abomination Brewing’s Love Letters From Hell milkshake hazy triple IPA is brewed with candy hearts, sprinkles, marshmallows, milk sugar, vanilla bean, strawberry, ice cream, and artificial colors.

Front Porch Cosmic Brownie Bday Stout

11% ABV

In December 2017, James Flynn, Drew Peccerillo, Ryan Voytek and Tiffany Ulrich opened Front Porch Brewing in Wallingford, Connecticut. Flynn, who began homebrewing in 2011, brewed Cosmic Brownie Bday Stout imperial pastry stout for the brewery’s 5th anniversary. Inspired by brownies, this stout is brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla, brownie, and fudge.

LINK: Peaks & Pints cooler inventory