Waaaaaaay back in March, we broke the news that Wormtown Brewery, the pride of Worcester, Mass, would be available in the Ocean State. Be Hoppy, their delightful flagship IPA, has been on draft at select locations since April; managing partner David Fields noted that he “believe[s] in building our brand at a barstool.” We promised to “have more details in a future column” and the 
future is now. We’re happy to share the latest Wormtown news: They’ll start shipping their superb brews to retail outlets in 401 Land. “Our goal is to have package in the market during November, with the hopes of beer fans being able to enjoy package beer at the Thanksgiving Day table,” Fields told us. “We are in the process of a major expansion to support the Rhode Island market,” including new canning and bottling lines and keg fillers. Be Hoppy will be pouring at more establishments, joined by Bottle Rocket Pale Ale and seasonal draft, including Blizzard of ’78. The packages are tallboys of Be Hoppy in four-packs; seasonal releases in bottles/six-packs; and 16-ounce/four-packs of Rocket Can, aka Bottle Rocket (“same beer,” Fields says, “but the name Bottle Rocket is a little weird on a can!”).
Waaaay back in the previous issue we dropped the news re: Revival Brewing’s Extra Thirsty, a triple IPA offshoot of You Thirsty?, to be dubbed. The New England IPA-on-steroids is bursting with Galaxy hops and has a sci-fi-themed tallboy can, so the Revivalists have proudly dubbed it The Official Beer Of The Galaxy. Here’s their spiel re: the big release event: “On stardate November 3, 2017, at Revival’s double-secret tasting room headquarters from 6 to 8pm, pioneers will experience triple pleasure when imbibing this glorious brew. At 10.5% ABV, it’s a libation fit for the celestial gods. It’ll make your ancestors proud to know that brewers have advanced so far as to successfully develop a triple IPA of this magnitude. These are glorious times we live in and if you miss this historic occasion, then you may regret it the rest of your life. Something the locals call FOMO. ” Check facebook.com/revivalbrewing for more encouragement.
Since 2000, Newport Storm has capped the year with its Annual Release – a series of “big beers that follow no set style.” The Stormers note that this year’s model is “inspired by German lagers and the technical traditions of German brewers. After a long, cold fermentation with Bavarian lager yeast strain our annual tradition settled in at 11% ABV. With the help of two German hops, Saphir and Tettenang, and rye grains, the yeast strain made this medium amber-colored lager full with sweet malty notes of fig and spicy notes of rye.” Annual Release ’17 (11% ABV) is on shelves now; there are only 3,000 cobalt blue bombers (with a wax seal) available, so don’t dawdle.
And mark your calendars/plan ahead: Foolproof Brewing Company will host its fourth annual Barrel Reserve Night on Saturday, December 16, with special barrel-aged brews, local artisanal eats and seasonal cheer. A ticket link will pop up soon at facebook.com/foolproofbrew. And at press time, the sixth annual Rhode Island Brew Fest, happening on January 27, 2018 at the Pawtucket Armory, was already 40% sold out. If memory serves, tickets were all gone by mid-December last year (hint: they make a great Xmas gift). Get busy at ribrewfest.com.
Finally, keep an eye out for Rhode Warrior Pilsner, the official pilsner of RI Comic Con, produced by Bucket Brewery. A Czech style Pilsner, it’s described as crisp, light, and sessionable. It will be sold in cans at the RI Convention Center and will be on draft at over a dozen locations around PVD.
For more beer news, check Lou’s blog, bottlescansclaphands.wordpress.com, or follow @BottlesCansRI.