Firestone Walker Brewing Company

With All Hallows’ Eve on the near horizon, it is time once again for a little black magic from Firestone Walker Brewing Company as the brewery’s seasonal Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout is set to make its annual return starting in mid October.

Firestone Walker’s Luponic Distortion revolving hop series hits its stride this month with the release of Revolution No. 003, marking the beer’s third release since its inaugural entry last spring.

After a one-year hiatus, Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s seasonal Oaktoberfest makes its packaged return this month in a dashing new 16-ounce can format. “We brewed a single batch of Oaktoberfest for select draft accounts last year, but that was it,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “It’s cool to have this beer back in the package, particularly in this new four-pack. You might be tempted to retire your stein and quaff it straight from the can.”

Simon Thorpe, the president of Duvel Moortgat USA, has resigned and will be replaced by Jeff Krum, who currently serves as Boulevard Brewing’s vice president of corporate affairs. Thorpe, who has served as the president and CEO of Duvel USA since 2009, will continue in an advisory capacity through the end of August, the company said.

As with the inaugural Luponic Distortion Revolution 001 released in the spring, Revolution 002 is loaded with an eclectic multitude of hops—but the hops have been remixed to deliver new twists of aroma and flavor. Revolution 002 hits the ground this month while the last of Revolution 001 rides off into the sunset.

A Firestone Walker classic is set to be recast in its 20th anniversary year as DBA gets nitro treatment for the first time ever, resulting in a fresh twist on a longtime flagship. “DBA is the beer that started it all for us in 1996, but this may be its truest form yet,” said David Walker.

After a lengthy courtship, Russian River Brewing Company and Firestone Walker Brewing Company announced today the imminent arrival of STiVO—an immaculately conceived mashup of their respective craft pilsners, STS and Pivo.

Are some U.S. brewers at risk of expanding faster than their market demand? And should you go with a bathroom or a taproom? Both topics were on the table at last week’s Brew Talks when a panel of brewery owners talked growth and expansion strategies in the craft beer space. Meeting during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia were Firestone Walker co-founder David Walker, along with 21st Amendment co-founder Nico Freccia and Devils Backbone COO Hayes Humphreys.

Three years after announcing it would build a third brewery and taproom in the Los Angeles area, Firestone Walker this week said it would open its new facility in Venice, Calif. with just one hitch — it isn’t permitted to brew on-site any beer quite yet. Located in two adjacent buildings on Washington Boulevard, the so-called “Propagator” campus will function as a research and development brewery for the country’s 13th largest craft brewery.

The Brewers Association (BA) today released its annual rankings of the top 50 U.S. breweries based on 2015 sales volumes, and once again Ballast Point Brewing emerged as the biggest mover amongst the industry’s largest craft producers. Climbing 20 places from 31 on the “Top Craft Brewing Companies” list, Ballast Point is now ranked as the 11th largest U.S. craft brewery, according to the BA. Although the organization’s official production figures will not be made available until next month, the San Diego-based brewery had projected 2015 volumes to be about 290,000 barrels.

You could say that Brewmaster Matt Brynildson has been waiting his entire career for a mandate like this: to riff freely in the brewhouse without formal recipe or restraint while plundering the many marvels of the hop revolution. This mandate has begotten Luponic Distortion—a new series of rotating beers built around experimental hops, with each release designed to showcase the possibilities of pure hop aromas and flavors without any assist from adjuncts.

In the midst of a brewery expansion that will nearly double its production capacity, California-based Firestone Walker announced plans to enter eight new states beginning in March. In a press release, the brewery said it had finalized agreements with wholesalers to launch in Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Vermont. The company will also begin exporting to Canada and Sweden.

With a new ingredient and a bit of wizardry, Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout has been transformed into a mindblowing mouthful known as Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, to be released starting on January 6, 2016.

After three years of selling 805 Blonde Ale in California only, Firestone Walker will begin shipping the beer to Arizona, Nevada and Texas for the first time this month. A low-alcohol session offering that Firestone originally brewed as a reaction to increasing local competition, 805 emerged as one of the best-selling national craft brands in 2015. According to market research firm IRI Worldwide, sales of 805, the 24th largest craft brand in supermarkets, were up more than 166 percent through Nov. 29, 2015.