(Portsmouth, NH) – Smuttynose Scotch Ale is in stores now. Next up in the Big Beer Series is Really Old Brown Dog Ale which will be more in the style of an Old Ale/English Barleywine. It will be out in mid-December. More from the latest newsletter…

“Over the next couple of months, Smuttynose will be releasing its first new full-time beer since we introduced our IPA in 2004. Named Star Island Single, our new session ale [with spices] will be available initially on draft, followed by bottles shortly after the new year.

As Dave alluded to in his notes above, now that we know what our hops situation is, we are committed to significantly increasing our production of Big Beers in the year 2009.

Now a juicy rumor – we are considering making our entire Big Beer Series available to individuals on a subscription basis, starting with our as-of-yet-unnamed Belgian Quad, our first 2009 release. Details will be outlined in our next newsletter, just in time for the holidays.”

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that this business model make sense- give the brewery all that liquidity up front while making beer pickup more convenient for the customer whether it be at the brewery or possibly delivered to one’s doorstep. I am surprised that more breweries haven’t followed The Lost Abbey (and others?) in doing this…red tape perhaps?

You can read the rest of the newsletter in the Beer Advocate forums.