Temptress with a touch of Jack is back

Image courtesy of Lakewood Brewing Co.

Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland has announced the return of Tennessee Temptress, a beer inspired by iconic whiskey-maker, Jack Daniel's.

The inaugural vintage of Tennessee Temptress debuted in in June 2018, after Lakewood was invited to collaborate with the Tennessee distiller. As for the 2019 edition, this barrel-aged version of the brewery's popular Temptress Imperial Milk Stout has been resting in spent Jack Daniel's barrels for most of a year, and is now ready to be shared with the world.

“I can’t wait to release Tennessee Temptress again,” says Wim Bens, founder of Lakewood. “Once the barrels are blended, we add sweet cherries from Oregon to the final blend to make it unlike any other Temptress you’ve ever had.”

A draft-only offering, Tennessee Temptress will be available for a very limited time starting in mid-November. Check the beerfinder at https://lakewoodbrewing.com/find-beer/ for locations.

Lakewood joins with Jack on new summer collab

Image courtesy of Lakewood Brewing Co

Following the success of two collaborations in 2018, Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland is again joining with Jack Daniel's Distillery to produce a unique barrel-aged beer.

Last year, the brewery teamed up with Jack Daniel's for Jack'd Up Lemonale and Tennessee Temptress. A new vintage of Tennessee Temptress is coming this fall, but Lakewood has something new and different in mind for summer.

“When Jack came knockin’ after our successful beer collabs last year, we jumped at the chance to continue creating new and fun beers,” says Wim Bens, founder and president of Lakewood. “This year we decided to continue to draw inspiration from Jack’s Country Cocktails line to make Jack’d Up Punch. It’s a blonde ale aged in freshly emptied and hand-delivered Jack barrels -- and then refermented with a silly amount tangerines, peaches and cherries. At 6.3% ABV it’s the perfect barrel-aged summer beer.”

Jack’d Up Punch will be a draft-only release available starting in mid-July.

Lakewood getting Jack'd up for summer

Image courtesy of Lakewood Brewing Co.

Last summer, Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland was one of a handful of local breweries invited to collaborate with iconic whiskey-maker, Jack Daniel's. Barrels for the initiative were hand-delivered to each brewery, with Lakewood using theirs to create a pair of special brews.

“We experimented and came up with Jack’d Up Lemonale and Tennessee Temptress, paying homage to the Jack Daniel's cocktail favorites, Lynchburg Lemonade and Jack & Cola,” says Wim Bens, owner of Lakewood. “We wanted to create two amazing and unique beers for this project, so we took our flagship Temptress and put a new twist on it, and built Lemonale from the ground up.”

Described as a refreshing take on a southern favorite, Jack’d Up Lemonale is a kettle-soured wheat beer brewed with a mix of Citra and Lemondrop hops. The beer was aged for six months in the aforementioned barrels, then enhanced with an infusion of 120 pounds of freshly-squeezed Meyer lemons.

As for Tennessee Temptress, that beer is based off of Lakewood's popular imperial milk stout, The Temptress. Also aged for six months, this Temptress variety was refermented on over 500 pounds of sweet cherry puree. The added treatment is said to have provided a touch of sweetness, while also helping to round out the beer's edges.

Both offerings are draft only and available now in the brewery's taproom, with deliveries to select accounts scheduled to begin next week.

In addition, representatives from Jack Daniel's and Lakewood will be hosting a beer dinner at The Libertine Bar on Wednesday, June 27. The event will feature the two collaboration beers, as well as a selection of Jack Daniel’s top-shelf whiskeys.

Celebrate Sasquatch with 903 Brewers, February 3

All images courtesy of 903 Brewers.

Since surfacing in Sherman during early 2014, Sasquatch sightings have become a regular occurrence around North Texas. Sightings of the beer from 903 Brewers, that is, as opposed to the manifestation of some mythical creature. Then again, a guy in an ape-like suit has played a part in the story of both beverage and beast. Thankfully, though, a reliance on fuzzy photographs isn't necessary to identify what's arguably one of the area's more recognizable beers.

"Sasquatch is the beer we're known for," says Jeremy Roberts, co-founder of 903. "That's thanks to winning a silver medal for the beer at the Great American Beer Festival, winning back-to-back medals at the U.S. Open Beer Championship, and being named one of the top ten stouts brewed in America by Beer Info."

Nowadays, Sasquatch is more a family of beers, rather than a single, solitary beast. It can be found seasonally in different forms, including Winter Sasquatch (with holiday spice), Birthday Sasquatch (with fudge and toasted marshmallow) and Barrel-Aged Sasquatch.

Of course, those are just the Sasquatch siblings you'll encounter out in the wild. Small-batch offerings have emerged from time to time at 903's taproom, and just last summer the company starting bottling varieties to be sold as brewery exclusives.

"One of the reasons we converted to a brewpub license was to be able to do brewery-only releases," explains Roberts. "Plus, Sherman is a beautiful one hour drive north, and we want people to come see us. Brewery-only releases have given more people a reason to visit, which is what we want, because we're excited about converting the old Lee School building into our future taproom."

Left: Bottle Club members have access to Barrel-Aged Maple Sasquatch, Ogre Imperial Oatmeal Stout,
Coffee Coconut Barrel-Aged Sasquatch, Scotch Barrel-Aged Sasquatch, Red Wine Barrel-Aged Sasquatch and more.

Right: Special glassware available to those attending Sasquatch's Fourth Birthday Party on Saturday, February 3.

Along those lines, 903 announced a new line of brewery exclusives in early January. The series, which will be doled out individually over the course of 2018, consists of beers like Barrel-Aged Maple Sasquatch, Coffee Coconut Barrel-Aged Sasquatch and Barrel-Aged Birthday Sasquatch.

Those beers and others can be obtained by way of the new 903 Bottle Club, with memberships available at shop903.com. Joining the club provides members with guaranteed access to a total of eight specialty beers (all packaged in either 22-ounce or 750mL bottles), not to mention exclusive glassware and a year's worth of discounts on brews purchased in the taproom.

Consumers can also get a taste of the three beers mentioned above by making the trip to Sherman this weekend for Sasquatch's Fourth Birthday Party. Going on Saturday from 12-5 p.m., the event will also feature a tapping of two other Sasquatch varieties: IronRoot Republic Barrel-Aged Sasquatch and Barrel-Aged Sasquatch with cacao nibs and vanilla. No ticket is needed to attend, but you'll want to arrive early for a chance to pick up special Birthday Sasquatch glassware.

As for what the future holds for Sasquatch and its brethren, rest assured there are even more varieties in the works.

"We have a new beer coming out called Friday Slide," reveals Roberts. "It's Sasquatch aged in Jack Daniel's barrels with coffee liqueur and Irish cream."

Look for that brew to arrive in March.

Oak Highlands enlists Jack Daniel's for 2017 BBA Chump Change

Image courtesy of Oak Highlands Brewery.

Initially teased in a Facebook post over the summer, Oak Highlands Brewery has partnered with Jack Daniel's Tennessee distillery for the 2017 release of Bourbon Barrel Aged Chump Change (11.3% ABV, 28 IBU).

Led by Kevin Sanders, a.k.a. "The Barrel Man," representatives from Jack Daniel's hand-delivered 34 spent barrels to Oak Highlands in late June, after which those casks were filled with the brewery's seasonal imperial black saison. Now, six months later, those barrels are being emptied in preparation for the beer's taproom debut, something set to occur on Saturday, December 16.

Rolling barrels into the brewhouse with "The Barrel Man" (Oak Highlands Brewery).

In addition, Bourbon Barrel Aged Chump Change will be packaged for the first time for sale in four-packs of 12-ounce cans.

"Previously, all of our barrel-aged releases have been draft only," says Brad Mall, co-founder of Oak Highlands. "In working with Jack Daniel's on this year's release of Bourbon Barrel Chump Change, we decided to broaden the reach and also offer it in four-pack cans."

Bourbon Barrel Aged Chump Change is the first barrel-aged brew

Oak Highlands has packaged for retail sale (Oak Highlands Brewery).

Quantities of the packaged beer will be very limited, with only 275 cases to be available. Consumers can expect the beer to start showing up at both retail and draft accounts during the week of December 18.

A number of joint launch events with Jack Daniel's are also being planned, according to Mall. Details on those festivities will follow in the coming weeks, so be sure to keep up with the brewery's social media channels (Facebook, Twitter) for the most up-to-date details.