Football plus beer. It’s a beautiful concept. And whether you watching on Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday, Fire Maker Brewing has a new football-inspired option for you.
This week, Fire Maker Brewing released their first Fall seasonal beer to the Georgia market. It’s called 4th Down, and it’s a Dry Hopped India Pale Lager!
4th Down is their new take on a classic German-style Oktoberfest. They added American spirit to a traditional lager by dry hopping with a heavy dose of Citra hops. 4th Down is everything you love about American IPAs and German lagers, all in one glass. You’ll enjoy this amber lager’s aromatic citrus twist and maximum flavor.
“We wanted to make a beer that incorporated different things that people look forward to in the Fall. Two of the biggest are Oktoberfest beer releases, and of course football.” Fire Maker’s Owner, Elliott Hall, said. “We are excited to celebrate both in this fantastic beer.”
The beautiful can artwork is by the talented Jordan Atkinson, whose work you may recognize from the large murals in Fire Maker’s Taproom. The 6-packs contain 12 oz cans that not only feature eye-catching art but also innovative design elements. The label includes a beer meter for easy flavor identification, and a QR code that leads you to a fun and informational video of a Fire Maker team member discussing 4th Down’s tasting notes.
4th Down is available for purchase in their Taproom and in distribution where Fire Maker is sold.
MOVING FROM FOOTBALL + BEER TO WINE + BEER
When you get to try La Fontaine from Social Fox Brewing, expect two things immediately.
First, the beer was named after a French poet and was made with French grapes, so there’s a classy element to drinking this beer. Second, sit down and enjoy the ride as this Oenobeer clocks in at 13.9% alcohol by volume, right at the legal limit for a beer in Georgia.
Before we go too much farther… Oenobeer?
It’s pronounced (N-O-Beer) and the basic definition, as told to me by Social Fox co-owners Mike Greene and Mark Klafter, is a beer made with wine or aged in wine barrels. La Fontaine is a bock made with a little over 60 gallons of California Pinot Noir grapes.
And it’s a tricky process to get right, at least for Social Fox, who’s brewing their first Oenobeer. They had to specifically brew a lower yield of beer (almost 30 percent less beer) to then later add to the 60 gallons of grapes. They had to make adjustments along the way. They also visited Liberati Brewery & Restaurant in Denver last year to get the ins and outs of Oenobeer, which is Liberati’s specialty.
The team at Social Fox wanted to brew a fall-focused Oenobeer and decided on the Pinot Noir grape to go along with their bock. Klafter calls it a fantastic compromise between beer and wine.
“It’s really interesting because it kind of changes characteristics throughout the process,” Klafter said. “I’d say right now it’s a really nice balance between the wine and the beer. It doesn’t have the full-bodied wine feel to it. It’s just a very interesting, indescribable flavor. It tastes a little bit like wine; a very mellow, light-bodied wine.”
Greene added: “We’ll have hints of the beer shining through with the grapes, but the grapes give it that wine-like essence.”
You’ll be able to give it a taste when they release the beer to the public on Friday, September 18 at 4 p.m. And when you taste it, know that the folks at Social Fox feel so good about this beer, they’re sending it off to one of the biggest beer competition around, the Great American Beer Festival.
“This will be the first time we’re entering the competition,” Greene said. “We’ve got four beers we're putting in there. We’ll see how we do. But also you get the competition notes back. Any notes back can help us improve on any character flaws or anything we want to do. Those notes are very valuable from those judges.”
Those notes will be valuable to fans of Social Fox’s Oenobeer, too. Greene and Klafter noted that while La Fontaine is the first Oenobeer for the brewery, it might not be the last. There are plenty of beer styles and grape varietals to explore.