This arrived by email this morning. I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time at Magnolia over the next few weeks!

----
NEWS FROM THE BREWERY

We are very proud to announce the arrival of another round of firkins from the UK, with the first one being tapped today! This time we've got seven casks (from three different breweries) visiting our cellar from across the pond. Some are strong, some are delicate, all are very classic expressions of English brewing.

We start this journey with a virtual visit to the Wye Valley Brewery in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, beginning with their Hereford Pale Ale. We'll also get to try their Victory Ale and Winter Tipple before moving on to the beers of the Burton Bridge Brewery of Burton-on-Trent, one of the world's most historically important brewing cities. Burton Bridge celebrates that city's rich brewing heritage with authentic, traditional ales such as Festival Ale, Bramble Stout, and Thomas Sykes Old Ale, all of which will be on tap soon at Magnolia (one or two at a time 'til we get through them all).

Following these, the seventh firkin is a very special treat: one of the final casks of the legendary George Gales Prize Old Ale, bringing 158 years of brewing at the George Gales Brewery in Horndean, Hampshire to a close. Gales was recently bought by Fullers Brewery and production of the Gales line will be moved there shortly. So come in and get a taste of this end of an era.

Happy as we are to have these beers in the house, we can't let our English colleagues have all the brewing fun. Like most California craft breweries, we love our hops, but we also love to revisit our roots. Latest in an ongoing series of traditionally minded English bitters, we're pleased to release New Speedway Bitter today, in both cask and CO2 dispense. This copper-colored 3.6% ABV bitter features Golden Promise, crystal and wheat malts from the UK as well as touch of sugar, as is the norm with many English bitters. Hops are of the First Gold and East Kent Golding varieties, and our house English ale yeast seals the deal with a touch of fruitiness that comes out best in the cask version.

And finally, on Friday we will serve the first glass of the long-anticipated Tweezer Tripel aged in a York Creek cabernet barrel for nearly 3 months. It's still unabashedly Tweezer, but with some nice, soft, subtle notes from the wood. We are excited about it and look forward to having you all try it. Let us know what you think!

As always, thanks for reading and please stay in touch.

Cheers,
Dave McLean