Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

Happy New Year to everyone! We thank you for your support, friendship and patronage in 2006 (and before), and we humbly ask for more of the same in 2007. We pledge to do our very best at making the Year of the Boar a year filled with extreme beer pleasure.
 
To that end, we are excited to announce the release of two extraordinary Baird Strong Ale Beer Series seasonals: Dark Sky Imperial Stout and Ganko Oyaji Barley Wine. Both of these wonderfully strong and characterful winter libations will be available at the Fishmarket Taproom and Baird Beer retailers beginning Wednesday, January 10. Bottle-conditioned versions also will be available for direct purchase from the brewery by individual consumers.
 
(1) Dark Sky Imperial Stout (ABV approximately 8.2%):
 
Pitch black, velvety rich and stormy in its complexity, this is the Mother of Stout Beers. It exhibits the amazing capacity to exhilarate and calm in the very same sip. The flavor hallmarks stem from roasted English barley and malt varieties as well as ample dosages of fruity American hops. The overall impact is one of dark foreboding.
 
(2) Ganko Oyaji Barley Wine (ABV approximately 8.6%):
 
With all due respect to Budweiser, Barley Wine is the King of Beers! It takes more malt and more hops and longer maturation than any other brew (not to mention more arduous effort on the part of the brewer). Baird Ganko Oyaji ("Stubborn Old Man") Barley Wine gains its depth and complexity from simple enough sources -- i.e. a grist bill featuring just English Marris Otter pale ale and caramel malts (as well as a hint of Japanese candy sugar), and a hop bill highlighting English Fuggles. The hedonistic pleasure plays out oxymoronically -- i.e. bitter and sweet, heavy and light, exhilarating and exhausting.
 
The 2007 debut of these burly brews is prelude to a special upcoming beer event to be held at the Fishmarket Taproom. The 2nd annual Baird Big Beer Winter Weekend will take place on Saturday and Sunday, February 3-4. The weekend event will feature a plethora of Baird Strong Ales and a special food menu designed to highlight the flavor characteristics of each strong ale. Strong Ales available at the event will include: (1) Yabai-Yabai Strong Scotch Ale, (2) West Coast Wheat Wine, (3) Ganko Oyaji Barley Wine, (4) Dark Sky Imperial Stout, (5) Hatsujozo 2007 Double IPA as well as a first-time brewed English-style Strong Ale. A detailed event announcement will be forthcoming shortly. In the meantime, please mark your calendar.
 
Cheers!
 
Bryan Baird