Silhouette Series
Hudson Valley Brewery
These wheat brews, designed to evoke nostalgia, are considered brunch-worthy due to their relatively low alcohol content (5 percent) and resemblance to mimosas, says Jamal Howell, the lead brewer at the Beacon brewery.
The orange-and-vanilla version is akin to a frozen creamsicle bar and another flavor with oats, blueberries and maple syrup evokes eating pancakes and blueberry oatmeal.
Raspberry lemon offers a twist on pink lemonade. Coconut and vanilla, designed to taste tropical, is almost like taking a bite out of a vanilla cream pie.
The brewery specializes in sour IPAs, but the unfiltered Silhouette offerings are designed to be fruitier and sweeter than most of its other styles, Howell says. Using the same souring agent found in yogurt, Howell created the lineup to be “easy on the palate and not too aggressive.”
“We never know what’s coming next as we play around with fruits, botanicals and other flavors,” he says. “If you come in May, we’ll have one thing and then in September, there’s a whole new lineup. It keeps us — and the consumers — on our toes.”
Spring Landscape Lager
Industrial Arts Brewing Co.
Industrial Arts rotates its seasonal Landscape Lager lineup every year, but they are always made from New York ingredients and the Beacon brewery donates all the profits from the series to agricultural and environmental causes.
The latest release is a Helles Bock, a German style that’s “a little beefier than a typical lager, more malty and higher alcohol,” explains Geoff Wenzel, research and development brewer.
The beer consists of two types of malted barley, hops, yeast and filtered Beacon tap water. Industrial Arts is known for hoppy styles, but this spring, “we wanted the malt to shine through,” says Wenzel.
Light Visions
Obercreek Brewery
This beer, which has 5.8 percent alcohol, is an oak-aged “farmhouse” ale, a broad term of European origin that suggests a beer made from the best available ingredients on a farm.
The dry brew includes black currants, a hint of vanilla bean and milk sugar to add body. A raspberry version is also available. The ale is bottle-conditioned, like Champagne, so the subtle berry flavor and gentle natural carbonation will change over time, says Kyle Miller, head brewer at the Wappingers Falls brewery.
“It’s ready to go now, but you can put a few bottles down for years and they will evolve,” says Miller. “There will be lots of flow between the flavor profile, the bacteria and the wild yeast.”
BONUS
Summer in a Can
Liquid Fables, Beacon
This vodka-based white sangria, at 9 percent alcohol, is flavored with peach, pear and orange and goes down more like a punch than a stiff drink, says owner Matt Green.
Liquid Fables has two ongoing series with new blends. Untold Fables tests ingredients and techniques; a recent iteration consisted of gin, black currants, raspberries and blueberries. Another was rye whiskey, blood oranges, cherries and a hint of maple syrup.
Core & Cask blends New York apples with rye whiskey, also sourced in-state. The alcohol content ranges from 8 percent to 12 percent.
It will be easier to keep up with the round-robin of rotating creations when they roll out a draft line at the Beacon tasting room, Green says.
