As Illinois government mandated restrictions on bar, taproom, and restaurant operations begin to loosen we thought it an appropriate time to formally announce Alter’s 2021 Retail Beer Calendar. While we have many, many more beers than below planned for our Downers Grove, IL taproom and St. Charles, IL restaurant, here is what you can expect to see at retail this year.
Our year-round offerings have a new addition in Heavy Squeeze Unfiltered Lemon Wheat Ale. Brewed with copious amounts of lemon zest puree and a bit of lactose for a smooth and pleasant sweetness, this juice is most certainly worth the squeeze. Available now and throughout 2021 in 12oz cans and draft.
The remainder of our year-round portfolio features our core of go-to beers. Center Line Golden Ale is the perfect gateway beer for macro beer drinkers to explore the full flavor of craft beer offerings. Our flagship pale ale Hopular Kid Extra Pale Ale returns better than ever with brilliant hop characteristics balanced with malt sweetness. Alterior Motive IPA is a traditional Midwest IPA (remember those?) with complex notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and pine. Finally, Hell Hazed Over 2X Hazy IPA offers all the sweet and hop aromatics you want in a hazy at 8.1% ABV. All the above are available in 12oz can 6 packs and draft. 72>64!
We are offering 3 traditional seasonal beers this year. In April, Bleacher Seat Wheat arrives for the baseball season with aromas of orange citrus, tropical fruit, lime, and a touch of vanilla. Perfectly refreshing whether you are enjoying baseball on the north or south side of Madison. In July, we will be bringing back our Festbier. Raise one of the first craft festbiers available in Illinois and say “Prost!” as we usher summer into fall. In November, we will bring back Swedda Wedda Oatmeal Stout as our fans would surely revolt if we did not. With a soft, creamy mouthfeel and notes of chocolate and coffee this 7.5% stout prepares us well for the winter ahead.
We will also have 4 high end, limited quantity special releases this year. The first one upon us in Dank You 2x IPA. Released this week, 2021’s version of Dank You features the proprietary Bergamot hop that bursts with orange citrus flavors and provides just the right amount of dank. At 10%, this is what a double IPA should be! A taproom favorite for years, King Balaton Cherry Wheat will make its first retail appearance in May. Crisp and effervescent, just the right balance of cherry tartness and sweetness highlight this wheat-based ale. Orange Hwip Milkshake IPA, our most popular draft beer from the summer of 2020, will also make its first retail appearance in September. Orange and vanilla aroma explode from this creamy milkshake IPA. Finally, Mutual Confection Imperial Stout will close out the year with a December release. This 10% ABV Neapolitan ice cream inspired imperial stout delivers complex and balanced notes of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.
While the uber fans may recognize a lot of these beers from our Downers Grove and St. Charles innovation programs, we are thrilled to be able to deliver to retail what we believe is our best lineup yet! Our ability to do so is, of course, because of our fans’ loyal support, which was never as important as it was this past year and through the first half of 2021. Thank you, thank you, thank you and cheers to 2021!
-Ken and the Alter Brewing Team