DURANGO, CO—On September 21^st Ska Brewing will begin the second year of its Seasonal Stout program—featuring a different canned stout released near the equinox or solstice of each of the four seasons—with the second annual release of Autumnal Molé Stout.

The Autumnal Molé Stout is an ale brewed with cocoa nibs, spices and three varieties of chile peppers: Ancho, Guajillo and Hatch green chiles, (also known as Anaheim Peppers.) This beer checks in at 5.8% ABV (Alcohol By Volume) and 15 IBU’s (International Bitterness Units).

Around Ska Brewing’s location in the high desert of Southern Colorado, chile peppers—especially the famous Hatch (aka Anaheim) Green Chiles—are as important to fall as raking leaves and football. “Humans are seasonal beings,” said Dave Thibodeau, Ska President and co-founder. “I mean, fortunately we don’t die in the fall and need replanting in the spring, but what we eat, drink, and play changes with the seasons. The seasonal stouts are the 12 oz. embodiment of that.”

The beer’s release will be celebrated near the date of the autumnal equinox at Ska Brewing World HQ in Durango, but according to Thibodeau “we just assume that all fall equinox celebrations in our nine markets are celebrating this beer’s release.”

The series will continue as it did last year, with the release of the other three stouts in the series: Hibernal Vinifera Stout on the winter solstice, and the Vernal Minthe Stout and Estival Cream Stout in 2014.

Event Information: Durango Release Party

Ska Brewing is releasing our fall seasonal stout — Autumnal Molé Stout — on Saturday, Sept. 21, here at Ska Brewing World HQ, with the Inaugural Molé Stout Chili Cook-Off! This Saturday afternoon event will feature great beer, live music and delicious Molé Stout Chili.

Date: Sept. 21, 2013

Time: Autumnal Molé Stout will be tapped at 2 p.m., judges will be served at 3, and public tasting will be from 3:20 – 4:20 p.m.

Place: Ska Brewing World HQ, Beer Garden

Categories: Restaurant & Amateur  (Prizes awarded for each category)

About Ska Brewing

Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and now produces over a dozen award-winning beers including the Pinstripe Red Ale, True Blonde Ale and Steel Toe Stout. Four Ska beers are now widely available in cans: ESB Special Ale, True Blonde, Modus Hoperandi IPA and the summer seasonal Mexican Logger. For information, music and a good time, visit www.skabrewing.com. Chat us up and get the latest news at facebook.com/skabrew and twitter.com/skabrewing.

DURANGO, CO—For the 6^th year in a row Ska Brewing has brewed a limited release wet-hop IPA. This year’s “all-Colorado” batch used fresh Colorado hops from High Wire Hop Farms in Paonia, and grain from Colorado Malting Company in Alamosa.

“Hoperation Ivy” was brewed within hours of the hop harvest in August, and will be released at the brewery’s 18^th Anniversary Party this Saturday, Sept. 7. Hoperation Ivy will hit shelves the following week as #23 in Ska’s Local Series, which sees distribution only in Colorado.

“This is a true ‘harvest’ beer”, said Bill Graham, Ska Co-founder and Brewing Overlord. “They were bagging hops at 6 a.m. and those hops were in the kettle by 3 p.m. that day, which is really cool. We only brew one batch of this a year, and we look forward to the next year from the minute it’s gone.”

The timing of the harvest and conditions of the growing season contribute a unique character to each year’s batch. “There’s been a lot of rain, and then we had a few dry days right before the harvest so things worked out really well this year,” said Graham.

Generally, when hops are harvested they are dried and pressed into pellets, but fresh hop, or “wet hop” beers use whole flowers that were plucked from the bine just hours before and still retain most of the volatile flavor compounds that are lost during processing. Hop “bines” are distinct from grape and other “vines” due to the plant’s structure.
“Not only do we get to make a rare and delicious beer, but we also get the chance to use local ingredients,” said Dave Thibodeau, Ska President and Co-founder. “That’s exciting because it means supporting Colorado farmers, and also because it results in less ingredients being transported here from the Northwest or Europe. That’s really the area of brewing where you can have the biggest impact in terms of reducing your carbon footprint.”

About Ska Brewing

Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and now produces over a dozen medal-winning beers including the Pinstripe Red Ale, True Blonde Ale and Steel Toe Stout. Four Ska beers are now widely available in cans: ESB Special Ale, True Blonde, Modus Hoperandi IPA and the summer seasonal Mexican Logger. For information, music and a good time, visit www.skabrewing.com. Chat us up and get the latest news at facebook.com/skabrew andtwitter.com/skabrewing.

DURANGO, CO—Patrons of the Ska Brewing Tasting Room, located at Ska’s World Headquarters building in Bodo Park, will soon have a new menu to consider while sampling Ska’s craft beer fresh from the source. The Container Restaurant, made from two repurposed shipping containers, is scheduled to open August 5. The restaurant will feature a year-round menu–with food made from scratch and many ingredients sourced locally or in-state—to complement and enhance the beer tasting experience.

Matt Vincent, Ska co-founder and Vice-President, has had his eye on using shipping containers since before the World Headquarters was built in 2008. “Maybe because our old location had such limited space, we were always fascinated with the idea of creating more usable space with shipping containers,” said Vincent. “The idea of being able to repurpose things fits with our focus on sustainability. We already have solar tubes to light the warehouse, recycled denim for insulation, former bowling lanes for tables… creating a restaurant space by repurposing shipping containers was another way to reduce our footprint. And it’ll look badass.”

The restaurant also represents the evolution of eating at Ska Brewing World Headquarters. In recent years, Zia Taqueria had operated out of an Airstream trailer in Ska’s beer garden during the warmer months, but Zia recently opened its own location in Bodo Park, and was no longer able to feed the brewery’s hungry customers on site. According to Ska President and co-founder Dave Thibodeau, the food void simply had to be filled. “Our customers are here sampling world-class beers, and food has to be part of that experience.”

The food is made from scratch, and as many of the ingredients as possible are sourced from the local region and state according to Chef Jeremy Storm, The Container’s Manager and Head Chef. “With The Container I have the chance to do things the way I think they should be done: fresh, local as possible, and from scratch. Not only that, but I get to create a menu that complements and draws from these amazing beers.”

Storm has followed food for most of his life, from a dishwashing job at 13 to formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in his twenties, followed by a seven year stint as a chef in Washington, D.C., and several years as an instructor at the New England Culinary Institute. Eventually, Storm followed food all the way to Alaska, where he worked on commercial fishing boats and guided multi-day river trips on the famous Copper River—deepening his understanding of people and the food on which we depend.

The menu features several items made with Ska beer, including a sandwich made with Sunnyside Farms pork shoulder and Steel Toe Stout barbecue sauce, and a Steel Toe Stout brownie. The restaurant’s local, house-ground beef—finished on spent grain from the brewery—highlights the rewards of cooperation between local food producers.

The restaurant will also serve hand-crafted pizzas from a brick pizza oven, along with sandwiches, soups and salads, appetizers, sweets and kids options.

Wheelsucker Wheat Ale is the SKAVERY interpretation of the perfect post-ride brew: a badass traditional German Hefeweizen! Wheelsucker Wheat will be available on draft at the Avery Tap Room in Boulder and at the Ska Brewing Tap Room in Durango while supplies last.

Brewery representatives from Avery Brewing, Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and Ska Brewing will be on hand at the Avery Tap Room this Sunday, July 17th beginning at 2:30 PM to tap Wheelsucker Wheat Ale, watch the Tour de France and raise money for the Boulder bike charity, Community Cycles.   $3 from all pints sold from 2:30 to 6PM will go directly to Community Cycles, and all are welcome to join in on the fun, grab a Wheelsucker, watch The Tour and help send off the brewer-cyclists on their journey to Durango.