It's Beer Label Friday!

I'm starting a new feature on the blog today -- Beer Label Friday.

Over the years, I've posted plenty of beer labels, so generally this is not anything new. But I thought it would be kind of neat to consolidate the labels to one blog post each week. Maybe it'll give you some beer for thought heading into the weekend.

First, a disclaimer about beer labels. While they're fun to look at and quite often an accurate barometer of what beers you should expect to see on shelves in the state, they are not a guarantee. Many a label has been approved only to be shelved before hitting production. And what's more, label approval doesn't always give a good indication of release date. Sometimes a beer is released soon after a label is approved, sometimes it's not for months.

But, I still maintain it's fun to check out new beer labels, so let's get this thing started.

And to start, I have to say this: I'll be dammed.

A lot of people will remember the Redbud Brewing Co. brand. It was formed shortly after current Prairie Artisan Ales founder and brewmaster Chase Healey left his job as brewmaster at COOP Ale Works.

The label didn't last long in practice. Shortly after getting started with Redbud, Healey left the state for a brewing job in Texas, before leaving that job to start Prairie.

The Redbud brand was scooped up by Mustang Brewing Co. when it purchased control of the OKCity Brewing Cooperative in the aftermath of the shake-up.

Many times over the years, Mustang hinted at re-launching Redbud. For example, this was posted on the Redbud Facebook page in 2013:

Redbud Brewing Company

May 2, 2013 · 

What styles of beers would you like to see come out of the "new" Redbud Brewing?

Like · Comment · Share

And then this was posted in February 2014:

Redbud Brewing Company

February 14, 2014 · 

Coming in April: Red Bud Cider! Oklahoma's first hard apple cider. It will be brewed in Oklahoma City at the new Mustang Brewing Company brew house. We will announce launch dates in March.

Like · Comment · Share

Of course, it's now July 2015, and we haven't seen any Redbud beers or ciders.

Over the years, when people asked me what the status of Redbud was, I always said I didn't think there really was any status. Mustang was generally focused on solidifying its own production plans and not focused on rolling out a different label.

Perhaps now that is about to change:

This label for In-Sider Ale was approved by the feds last month, and seems to indicate we may finally see a re-birth of the Redbud brand in the form of a hard apple cider. I'll share more details as they become available.

For our next label, let's take a look at the new Adaptation Ale from Roughtail:

As I mentioned on the blog yesterday, this is the first in a series of small-batch, quarterly rotating IPAs from Roughtail. The beers will be released each January, May, July and October, with the first one expected to hit stores as early as this weekend. Here's how Roughtail describes the July 2015 version:

"Black IPA features strong tangerine, orange peel and pine needle flavors and aromas from a heavy does of Amarillo, Chinook and Centennial hops. Its subtle malt backbone finishes very clean and exceptionally dry. 8% ABV, 90 IBUs. 80 cases produced."

In other words, grab some while you can, because there won't be much out there.

Lastly, we have a keg label for Hanson Bros. Festivale Farmhouse Ale:

I don't have much I can tell you about this one, other than the fact that a label for Festivale bottles and/or cans was approved by the feds a few months ago:

We shall see how that shakes out. Now on to the bullet points.

Pints and Pins

-I give a tip o' the cap to local homebrewer AJ Crowell. AJ was in need of some empty 12 oz. bottles so he could enter the Red Earth Brewers' latest homebrew competition. I have tons of empty 12 oz. bottles and we just happen to live within a mile of each other. So I hooked AJ up with some bottles yesterday and he in turn hooked me up with a bomber of his Hop Town Funk Saison (love that name!).

Look out beer world, because AJ can make a mean saison! This beer was great. Thanks AJ!

-I'll be at Oak & Ore tonight for the Anthem/Energy FC beer unveiling. The Energy has asked me to take part in a promotional video about the beer. Since I love beer and soccer, this seemed like a no-brainer. Stop by and say hello if you spot me.

-Jump on Twitter and search "#DeadRaccoonTO." I'm from Toronto, and while this deal was slightly peculiar/disturbing, it also made me #lol and feel somewhat proud of being from Toronto, if only because the city owned worldwide Twitter for a night.

-We have a hard-charging contender for event of the year: Roughtail Taphouse is hosting a "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" watch party and pint night with a special shark-inspired beer on July 22. You will not want to miss this!!! Can I use more exclamation points? !!!!!! Yes, yes I can.

-Marshall Brewing is hosting its first Firkin Friday tonight at 4 p.m. featuring Volks Radler. Pints and growler fills start at noon and run through 7 p.m., featuring Mosaic Pale Ale, Nelson Pale Ale, Lil Belg and Volks Pils.

-Anthem Brewing is hosting tours and tastings at 1 p.m. Saturday. Anthem is really working the public appearance circuit these days. I'll have more on that next week. Until then, have a good weekend, people.