Part II of today’s beer notes update.

Sierra Nevada Brewing: From Facebook, “Life & Limb part 2, all packed up and ready to go. Start looking for it at a store near you in mid-August.”

Stoudts Brewing / Victory Brewing: Surprisingly not all that uncommon, the biggest tidbit in a lengthy Penn Live feature about Stoudts push into Harrisburg is this Victory Brewing mention: “Victory Brewing in Downingtown is blowing out 80,000 barrels a year.” Victory produced close to 59k barrels last year so this 2011 projection would represent somewhere in the ballpark of a 40% uptick from 2010. Not record-breaking even for those super regional breweries but mighty impressive nonetheless.

William K. Busch Brewing: Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “William K. ‘Billy’ Busch, 51, said he is close to opening William K. Busch Brewing Co., a brewery that will initially focus on American-style pale lagers, similar to Budweiser and Bud Light. The goal is to have two lagers available in the St. Louis market by November, with broader, regional distribution after that.”

Hoppin’ Frog: Per the brewery blog, “We will be releasing a special barley wine on September 1st in celebration of our Fifth Anniversary. It is aging perfectly and the flavors are smoothing and each taste test is richer. We expect an extremely limited quantity of Barrel Aged Naked Evil BBW Belgian-style Barley Wine-style Ale to be available, and we do plan on a brewery release. We will also ship to our distributors as long as it is available. Barrel Aged Naked Evil BBW Belgian-style Barley Wine-style Ale will be sold in 22oz bottles.”

Half Acre Beer Co.: Per label artist, Phineas Jones, here is a label that he has produced for a beer made “especially for the fancy pants restaurant,” Next. The beer, called Horizon, is brewed with mangosteens and hibiscus.

Laurelwood Brewery: Named Vasilios Gletsos the new brewmaster. “Vasili has excelled such brands as Rock Bottom Brewery, Portland Brewing/Pyramid, and now is taking Laurelwood to the next level. Vasili’s pedigree doesn’t stop with his work experience; he is a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and possesses a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maine College of Art.”

Oakshire Brewing: Per the brewery blog, “Sam Bond’s Garage is celebrating their 16th Anniversary this weekend and we got together for a special beer. Served only at Sam Bonds in Eugene, The Axe & Fiddle in Cottage Grove and at our tasting room, this Extra Special Bitter is a perfect balance of malt and hops. Dry Hopped with East Kent Goldings hops and 5.3% abv.” Oakshire is also working on a few special release beers for the McKenzie River Trust: Green Power Pale Ale, Land Trust Lager and Skookumchuck Wild Ale.

Block 15 Brewing: From Friday, “Today we release Golden Canary, our barrel matured golden wild ale. The blend is over 20 months in the making, a game of patience. Honestly, it doesn’t seem that long ago when we barreled the oldest part of the blend. Since then we have brewed over 400 batches of beer, and our barreling program has grown from 25 barrels to over 100.”

Trinity Brewing: Per Friday’s newsletter, “We’ve got some very nice beers releasing soon, including our 2011 vintage of ‘The Flavor’. This is one of the rarest beers we brew annually, it’s a dark Kriek inspired style, aged on french oak barrels full of resident microbes, almonds, and copious amounts of cherries. We use both dark cherries and sweet cherries to create a profile similar to what you would expect in ancient Belgium Lambics. ‘The Flavor’ releases July 29th, and you best hurry if you want a 750ml … this beer sells out extremely fast !

August 5th marks the return of our annual san hopped batch of lager, Kinky Reggae. This Jamaican Jerk spiced beer blends the cultural origins and traditional cooking methods of many indigenous peoples native to the Caribbean. Most famous for the heat it brings from scotch bonnet peppers also includes cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and thyme… This lager turned out spicy hot, while balanced nicely with sweet malt.”

Lompoc Brewing: From Friday’s newsletter, “We’re made a very limited run of Kick Axe Soap Box Beer, our Kick Axe Dry Hopped Pale Ale with a special label. There are a few bottles at Sidebar and New Seasons right now, and we’ll do another bottling next week, so look for more soon.”

Armadillo Ale Works: A last-minute $2,500 pledge put Armadillo Ale Works over the hump in being able to help fund its brewery through Kickstarter.

Calfkiller Brewing: A thorough report on Calfkiller Brewing by the Fledgling Brewer. They are expanding distribution to Nashville soon.