Today Saturday October 18th is brought to you by the letter “R” and the number “3” as in three beer releases.

Soledad Beer Release at Strangeways — Noon

Strangeways will release their latest beer, Soledad, at noon today October 18th with limited bottle (approx 333) sales.  Soledad is a rum barrel aged tripel brewed in tribute to Gabriel García Márquez.

SOLEDAD (8% abv~25 IBU) <Rum Barrel Aged>

Venezuelan rum barrels were delivered to Strangeways on the day of Gabriel García Márquez’s death, April 17, 2014. Known affectionately as Gabo, and of whom the Columbian president called “the greatest Columbian who ever lived”, we brewed a unique tribute beer to honor the life of this tremendous literary artist who wrote the Nobel Prize winning novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (Soledad means Solitude).

Under no established style guidelines, Soledad was crafted entirely with South American cuisine in mind, and everything from the fruits to the yeast were specially chosen based on traditional recipes from the continent. Columbian bananas, toasted coconut, Piloncillo raw cane sugar, passion fruit, mamey sapote, and fresh mangoes were all used in the process, and the elixir went through nearly half a year of aging on Venezualan rum barrels.

The rich taste is fruity and tropical with touches of hoppy citrus and spice, complemented with mysterious shadows of coconut and chocolate and, of course, rum!

Head over to the Facebook event for more information and updates.

Virginia Black Bear On The Loose at Lickinghole Creek — Noon

Did you ever wonder how Lickinghole Creek’s Enlightened Despot tasted before it was aged in bourbon barrels? Well, LCCB is releasing the base beer for Despot, Virginia Black Bear Russian Imperial Stout.

Ryes of the Pumpkin at Hardywood — 4PM

This year’s barrel aged pumpkin beer from Hardywood comes in the form of Rye Whiskey Barrel Pumpkin replacing Rum Pumpkin. Head Brewer, Brian Nelson explains the reason for the change, “Barrel aging requires time.  Our rum barrels are supplied by a Peruvian distillery, so when the distiller needed to give the rum another month in the barrels, our schedule was pushed back as a result.  When the rum is done, the barrels open up for us to do our thing.”

Hardywood Rye Whiskey Barrel Pumpkin combines the nostalgic flavors and aromas of autumn with a soul warming, rye whiskey laced finish that can only be achieved through months of maturation in Jim Beam rye whiskey barrels.

Check out the Facebook event for more information and updates.