You can click on the word “release” in any post to see all of the latest release calendars…now this from Jack’s Abby:
Written by Rob Day VP Of Marketing
We’re happy you are here to get a peek at our 2024 Lager Release Calendar. This next year of beer releases come together to create one of our most well-developed and thoughtful calendars yet. You may recall earlier this year that we brought online our new Tradition Meets Tech Pilot System which allowed us to test more lagers than ever in our Beer Hall & Kitchen. In fact, we’ve tested nearly 90 small batches of beer throughout 2023.
It’s not just about volume though. We’ve also been able to flex a lot more creativity in our process as well. The creativity flowing through this brewery matched with the equipment helped us push more lager boundaries than ever before. All of this led to producing some of the greatest and most exciting lagers we’re capable of and developing a 2024 Release Calendar for new and old fans alike.
SEASONAL SUCCESS
If you know Jack’s Abby, I am sure you know Copper Legend and what a massive release it is for the brand. That’s all well and good, but the seasonals that surrounded it have often lagged behind, so we took this opportunity to take the FEST to the rest of the seasons.
Summer will see the release of Porch Fest. This beer is styled in the manner of a traditional golden Festbier with some innovative twists. We took a lot of what we learned in our Weihenstephan collaboration to craft a beer with a rich and crisp lager base and bright lemon hop hop flavor. It’s the perfect lager for anyone who wants to Bring The Fest to Every Porch.
Swinging over to the other side of Oktoberfest, we will be releasing Extra Layer Winter Fest Lager. This is a style fusing innovation that borrows from both Dunkel and Bock style beer to make a slightly sweet, warming lager that finishes easily. As you head into colder month fests, you might want to take an Extra Layer With You… see what we did there?
VARIETY IS THE LAGER OF LIFE
We’re looking forward to our seasonal fest beers so much that it got us thinking about bringing the fest to our variety packs as well. For the first time in our history, we are going to be releasing our variety packs in line with our seasonals so that you can enjoy them along with some favorites and exclusives.
That’s right. Each variety pack will also feature an exclusive lager that will only be available in this format. This is an opportunity for us to bring some niche, exciting lagers to a wider audience in 2024. Here’s how that shapes up:
- Spring / Summer: House Lager, Post Shift, Porch Fest, Weizen Fest
- Oktoberfest (I.e. fall): House Lager, Post Shift, Copper Legend, Brite As Hell
- Winter: House Lager, Post Shift, Extra Layer, Dark As Hell
FUN WITH FLAVORS
If you’ve been in the beer hall this year, you’ve likely tried one of our new “tart lagers”. We’ve been toying with this style for years (Cran Berliner/Lager Beleza) and found a lot of success and fans. So in 2024, we are rolling it out in a more meaningful way.
This year will see the release of 3 single batches in a series, and here’s what you can expect:
Lavenade: lemon and lavender pair beautifully against the slightly tart, wheat lager base that drips with tasty nostalgia from your lemonade stand days – which might have been recently. Lemonade business is boomin’.
Pineapple Mayhem: pineapple and mango are the co-stars of this lager – also with a slightly tart, wheat lager base. This one is really reminiscent of beachside cocktails with little umbrellas – is it summer yet?
Cranberry Chaos: fall and holiday flavors (Falliday?) bring this lager to life. Tart cranberry and orange peel blend seamlessly with the tart, wheat lager base for an incredibly tasty lager. This was most recently available in the Beer Hall as a pilot batch and sold out very quickly. Keep your eye out next year.
LOYAL TO LAGER
This one is for the OG fans! We use this series to tap our inner beer geeks and brew some technically difficult and rewarding styles every other month. Each release is a single batch so you want to grab it while you can. We kept 4 of the top favorites for next year and are bringing in 2 new lagers.
Bohemian Dawn is the Czech Pale Lager counterpart to the wildly popular Bohemian Dusk released in 2023. As Jack has continued to explore every corner of lager, Czech history and brewing styles have caught his attention. So we knew we needed another solid example in the lineup for next year.
Toy Soldier is a really special offering for us here in Framingham – let’s start with the naming. Toy Soldiers are an annual tradition in our town. In the original days of the Shoppers World Mall (1951-1994), these Toy Soldiers stood at attention in the atrium for the holidays welcoming guests and delighting families. When the mall was demolished the soldiers could have been lost if not for a few intrepid souls who saved what they could. The soldiers then started to reappear throughout the city just a few years later. You can read the full history here.
This has become a full-blown annual tradition in Framingham with 40 of them now placed around our town – including a brand new one featured here at the brewery. The name Toy Soldier speaks to an iconic Christmas image and something very close to our community.
Now, how about the beer? This is our most boundary-pushing lager in the assortment. It’s styled in the loose fashion of a French Grand Cru and brewed with rye, honey, ginger, nutmeg, and orange peel. It’s a little higher ABV at 7.8%, and we think it might just be the perfect Christmas Lager.
BUT WAIT… THERE’S MORE!
Yes, it was a busy year for our brewers. We made a small change to our Hoppy Lager program and we will be alternating the crowd-favorite Chill Haze and the brand-new Chill Daze between the colder months and warmer months respectively.
Finally, we have a few Framinghammer surprises coming for you at the end of 2024. You’re going to want to stay tuned for that one.
That’s certainly a lot of new, exciting lagers for 2024 and we look forward to sharing them all with you. We also know that for every new beer going out, we might have removed a beer that some of you love. Let us know in the comments – or better yet keep your eye on taproom releases because it is likely to make a return trip as a Beer Hall Exclusive.
Thank you for living the lager life with us. We couldn’t do this without you and wish you the best year in beer ever!
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