Highland Brewing Co. in Asheville, North Carolina has announced that it will close its taproom due to constantly rising COVID-19 cases in the state (and the entire country) coupled with a loss of outdoor seating due to lower temperatures.

This is a bold move for the brewery, and one that others should consider, due to the record-breaking pandemic numbers that are occurring every day across the U.S. Full details on the brewery's decision as well as its reopening are below.

To our fans and guests, 

After careful consideration, the team and I have come to the decision to temporarily close our Taproom after regular service on Wednesday, December 23. Our hibernation will continue into early 2021, with curbside pickup reopening on January 6 and full reopening at a later date.

We decided to voluntarily close the Taproom doors with a few factors in mind: 

Pennington Distilling Co. in Nashville, Tennessee has announced it won a total of 12 medals at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits competition, including Two Double Gold, Two Gold and One Silver. Full details are below.

Nashville, TN— Pennington Distilling Company's family of brands has earned twelve national exclusive spirit tasting awards.  The 2020 tasting competitions include the San Francisco World Spirits Competition Awards, the Beverage Tasting Institute/Tastings.com Spirits Competition, and the SIP Awards International Spirits Competition.  

Jeff and Jenny Pennington, co-founders of Pennington Distilling Company, state “Winning these awards is a huge honor for each of our brands.  Our Davidson Reserve Whiskies, Pickers and Walton's Vodkas, and Whisper Creek spirits continue to resonate with our target demographics of whiskey lovers, vodka enthusiasts, and our Tennessee sipping cream fan club.  We are very proud of our entire team who have worked hard to make Pennington Distilling Company and Nashville become known in the liquor business on a national stage.”

30 Breweries in Oregon have banded together to urge Congress to pass the Malheur Community Empowerment for Owyhee Act, which would protect the Owyhee Canyonlands in the state. Full details are below.

Ferment Brewing Co. in Hood River, Oregon has announced the release of two new barrel-aged and bottle-conditioned beers: an Imperial Stout and a Quadrupel. Full details are below.

HOOD RIVER, Ore.—Dec. 15, 2020—Ferment Brewing Co. is pleased to announce the addition of two new barrel-aged bottle-conditioned beers to its premium lineup. Ferment Farm Quad and Ferment Imperial Stout are available now in 500 ml. bottles with wax seals.

Ferment Farm Quad is a rich and layered quadruple that starts with a grain bill of five of the most iconic malts of Europe and an addition of dark candi beet sugar syrup from Belgium into the kettle. Following a modest charge of European hops, the brewery ferments out the brew with its White River farmhouse strain along with a Belgian monastic strain and Champagne yeast. Months spent in French oak wine barrels with Brettanomyces results in a deep copper ale loaded with rich, fruity esters, cocoa, coffee, dried fruit, and a snap of barnyard Brett (10.7% ABV).

Ferment Imperial Stout is shaped from deep heritage and mythology. Originally crafted by English Brewers for the Russian Czar, this is the bold monarch of craft beer styles with notes of coffee, dried fruits, juicy berries, leather, cured tobacco, wine, and oak (11% ABV).

Wild Leap Brew Co. in LaGrange, Georgia has announced the release of the newest beer in its popular Alpha Abstraction series. Full details are below.

LAGRANGE, GA - Wild Leap is introducing the newest addition to the Alpha Abstraction Double IPA Series. Alpha Abstraction Vol. 15 (8% ABV) is a juicy, double dry-hopped IPA brewed with El Dorado and Idaho 7 hops to deliver dank tropical, mango and caramel notes. Alpha Abstraction Vol. 15 hits shelves today.

Wild Leap’s Alpha Abstraction Double IPA Series explores hop varieties and features a varied hop profile in each volume. In 2019, Wild Leap ended the year with the release of Alpha Abstraction Vol. 10, which featured a hop combination of select lots. This year, Wild Leap is following in those footsteps with the release of Vol. 15.

“Similarly to Vol. 10, Vol. 15 features a hop combination of select lots chosen for their supreme juicy and dank qualities,” explains Wild Leap’s Chief Brewing Officer, Chris Elliott.  “The result is a wonderfully bright and clean tropical aroma and flavor.”

“We’ve used El Dorado and Idaho 7 hops before in smaller batch beers, but it wasn’t until Hop Harvest this year that we tested two very unique lots of each variety,” says Elliott. “The El Dorado is very dank tropical and the Idaho 7 has huge mango and caramel notes. We knew this balance was uniquely perfect, so we secured enough of each lot for this very special volume of Alpha.”