(Belchertown, MA) – The latest from Shelton Brothers announced some upcoming arrivals. More below via this month’s newsletter.

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Weighing in at 19.3% ABV, this new series from Mikkeller is described as a Barley Wine. That description, however, doesn’t really do it justice. When we tasted these out of the barrels with Dirk Naudts (the brewer at De Proefbrouwerij), he said, “Do not think of this like a beer.” Dirk couldn’t be more correct. These are ponderous bottles, built for sipping. The series is based around a high gravity wort (fermented with champagne yeast), which leans on the malt, but isn’t too sweet. Following fermentation, the beer was aged in three different varieties of French oak barrels: Forêt de Tronçais (prized for Cognac and Bordeaux), Forêt du Centre, and Forêt Limousine. Additionally, each wood type is presented in both light and medium toast, so there are a total of six beers in the complete series. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself saying “wow” when you taste these.

All six beers come in 375ml bottles, packed in mixed cases.

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It was nearly a year ago when Gabe Fletcher (Anchorage Brewing Co.) and Menno Olivier (De Molen) met up in Bodegraven to brew what became Mud & Funk. The beer started off as an Oatmeal Imperial Stout. It was then aged in a mixture of bourbon and wine barrels and a brett culture and allowed to take its time to mature. The beer hit our warehouse just in time to make on a shipment to Alaska, where Menno will be attending Gabe’s The Culmination festival in a couple weeks. Hopefully some new collaboration will result from that, but if so, we have a feeling you will need some patience. Menno will also be making a pit-stop in the Bay Area on this trip. More details on those stops soon.