We are extremely excited to announce the launch of our Unafraid of the Dark – Rare Breed Edition, which will feature four carefully curated beers from our barrel program. Each beer will be lusciously dark and delicious! Cards to the series make for great gifts!
For seven years in a row, we ran a popular little beer series called Unafraid of the Dark. Customers could sign up for the series, guaranteeing them access to limited edition dark beers that were released during the first three months of the year. Last year, we decided to switch things up a bit, and focus instead on a new beers series called Rare Breed, which features the very best beers from our barrel program.
Fast forward to this year, and enough folks have asked us about both series that we decided to do something again! Introducing Unafraid of the Dark – Rare Breed Edition – featuring four dark, barrel-aged beers that have been carefully vetted by our brewers and owners to ensure that they are extraordinary enough to be bottled and shared with you!
The series makes for a very unique and special gift (for your friends, loved ones, or yourself). Buying into the series ensures that you can take home all four beers, and you will also get a discount on all the beers as well! Here are the beers we plan to include in the series:
- 2019 Port Barrel-Aged Five Minute Fugitive Russian Imperial Stout (11.4% ABV) – We took one of our highest rated beers ever (5 Minute Fugitive Russian Imperial Stout), and aged it in a port barrel for 10+ months. We actually made this beer last year as well, and loved it so much that we decided to do it again! This big sipper is similar to last year’s but has some different nuances. It’s packed with flavors of chocolate, cherry, berry, and coffee & cream, and finishes with a lingering jammy-ness.
- Coconut Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout (11% ABV) – This beer features a boozy nose with flavors of chocolate raisins, dark berries, sweet coffee, and mild vanilla (from the coconut rum). For a 11% barrel beer, this one drinks with a surprisingly lovely, clean creaminess.
- The Dark Side of The Blend (7.8%) – a cuvée (i.e., a mix) of our Oma’s Tribute black lager that’s been fermented with Brettanomyces in a 4 Roses Bourbon Barrel blended with The Sandman— our dopplebock that’s been aged in a Cognac barrel. All of these components come together into a beauty of a beer with multiple layers of flavor. The most notable aromas include tart cherry, plum, and chocolate. Flavors of blackberry, plum, red wine, chocolate bread, and oak are rounded out with tart, dark berry notes at the end. While the Oma’s Tribute was 100% Brett fermented, there are really no discernible Brett notes, except for a slight funk in the nose. The presence of the barrel definitely shines through with notes of oak and subtle bourbon underlying each sip.
- To Be Announced Soon! – We will be releasing details on the last beer soon. This is not a guarantee, but we do have our eye on a cinnamon whiskey barrel that has El ChupBREWcabra Mexican Chocolate Porter aging in it. However, given the high risk involved with barrels (i.e., a barrel can turn a beer into something absolutely magical, or, it can take an amazing beer and turn it into something that ends up being poured down the drain), we aren’t quite ready to commit that this will be the one! What we can commit to is that the beer will be dark and barrel-aged to achieve a sort of alchemy that results in a rare breed of beer that can’t be achieved with just stainless fermenters – a beer with layers of complexity and flavor. A beer that deserves to be slowly savored sip by sip.
Pricing and Package Options:
Each beer in the Unafraid of the Dark – Rare Breed Edition will be packaged in a 375 ML bottle. We are only bottling up to 100 bottles of each beer – so they really will be a rare breed! When you buy the series, you can choose to purchase one or two bottles of each of these beers:
- One 375 ML bottle of each of the four beers (4 bottles total) for $38 (a discount of 5% from buying the bottles individually)
- Two 375 ML bottles of each of the four beers (8 bottles total) for $72 (a discount of 10% from buying the bottles individually)
The first of the Rare Breed bottles will be released on December 8th. The second bottle release will be in January, the third in February, and the fourth and final in March. When you sign up for the series, we will send you an email notifying you when each of the beers are available, when you can pick them up, as well as some detailed tasting notes.
Interested in buying into the Unafraid of the Dark – Rare Breed Edition Series?
Sales start online now, and at the brewery on Sunday, December 8th as part of our Fat Alberta & Friends release party. On 12/8 the first beer – 2019 Port Barrel-Aged Five Minute Fugitive – will be available in bottles and also on draft. You can buy one bottle for $10, or pre-buy the whole series at a discount. If you are giving the series as a gift, you can bring the first bottle home with you, and we’ll give you a nice postcard that can be included as part of the gift. Not around on December 8th? Here are other ways to buy:
- If you are part of our mug club, simply send us an email letting us know if you want one or two bottles of each beer. You can pay the next time you are in!
- Stop by Throwback Brewery during our open hours.
- If you want us to take your credit card details over the phone and mail you the punch card for the series, we can do that, but we will add 2 dollars to the price of the card to cover some of the extra fees we have to pay for manually entering in a credit card. If that works for you, give us a call at (603) 379-2317.
- Don’t want to deal with humans? The cards are available for sale on online at our store.
Hopefully the following FAQs will answer any lingering questions you might have!
I’m going away from January – March / I live someplace warm in the winter, can I still sign up for the series? If you are going to be away for the winter, we can hold on to the bottles for you until the middle of April 2019. If you are going away for a few weeks, and are afraid you are going to miss a beer, don’t worry, we will hold on to your bottle(s) for you!
Can I just buy one of the bottles?
You can. But, there are only 100 bottles of each, so by buying into the series you are guaranteed all four beers – and at a discount!
Can I give this as a gift?
Of course! We highly recommend it! 🙂 Please note that we won’t send an email out about the availability of the first beer until after the first of the year, by that time most people have exchanged gifts. Also, we will give you a little ‘punch card’ for the series, as well as a small postcard describing the gift, which can then be given to your friend / loved one/ or yourself!
Can I try the beers before buying into the series?
The short answer is no – some of the beers aren’t ready yet, and some are already bottled. That being said, you will be able to try the 2019 Port Barrel-Aged 5 Minute Fugitive Russian Imperial Stout at our Fat Alberta & Friends release day on December 8th.
If you love beers that look like this, you should definitely checkout this year’s Unafraid of the Dark – Rare Breed Edition beer series!
