Karl Strauss Debuts 24th Anniversary Flanders-Style Ale

23 Jan 2013 --- Karl Strauss Brewing Company is celebrating 24 years of pioneering San Diego’s local beer scene. When the company first opened its doors on February 2, 1989, no one knew if craft beer would take off. Now, with Karl Strauss helping to lead the charge, San Diego has become internationally recognized as a hotbed for craft beer culture and innovation. Karl Strauss is celebrating this milestone with its third annual Changing of the Barrels event and the debut of its 24th Anniversary Flanders- style ale.

Changing of the Barrels is an intimate event taking place inside the brewery. Limited to 100 tickets, guests will be the first to try the 24th Anniversary Flanders-style ale that spent a year in oak barrels. They will also have the exclusive opportunity to sample the 25th Anniversary Doppelbock before it goes into barrels for the next twelve months. “We’re looking forward to sharing the Anniversary brew with folks who tried it last year before it went into barrels.  It’s also fun to get a sneak peak at the 25thAnniversary beer. We think people are going to dig our take on a doppelbock,” says Paul Segura, Brewmaster, Karl Strauss Brewing Company. Admission into the event includes beer for the evening, food by Miho Gastrotruck, live music by Leanna May and the Matadors, and a souvenir tasting glass.

The 24th Anniversary Flanders-style ale is part of the company’s recently expanded barrel-aging program. “We’ve been experimenting with sour beers for a while and we thought it would be fun to barrel age a bigger version of our Flan-diddly-anders” says Segura. “The Flanders style is tart enough to make sour fans happy but still accessible enough for people who might not have tried a sour beer before.  It was a fun beer to make.” The 24thAnniversary Flanders-style ale follows the Flemish tradition of carefully combining both barrel-aged and freshly fermented sour beers to create the ultimate blend. The result is a complex sour ale with layers of tart cherry, pomegranate, currants and toasted oak. The beer finishes at 7.5% abv and nicely contrasts soft cheeses, grilled meats, and sweet glazes.