Happy Friday the 13th. It’s been 364 days since the last time we announced our annual La Muerta release…so it’s about that time.
This year is a little extra special, not just because it’s the 10th iteration of our smoked imperial stout, but you may have heard that we recently captured Gold at GABF in the Aged Beer category for the 2014 edition of La Muerta (good thing we saved a few bottles…we told you this would age wonderfully…says so right on the label!).
This year’s release is going to be bigger and better than ever, with a different format that still holds on to the traditions that have made this thing what it is. Details are below, but here are the customary links for those who enjoy a little history:
THE BEERS
As we’ve done for the last few years, La Muerta 2017 will feature the base beer plus three additional bottled variants:
- La Muerta 2017: There are some slight changes in the specialty malt bill, but no anticipated changes to the finished beer. We mostly just wanted to try out some Chilean malts (hey Patagonia Malts…if you are reading this…maybe we need to come visit your facility?). 9.9% ABV. 50 IBU.
- Rum Barrel Aged
- Woodford Reserve Double Oak Barrel Aged – The beer is not double barrel aged, but the barrel was the second barrel used in Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
- Port Barrel Finished Whiskey – This one is a little harder to explain in a concise way, but here we go: this was a port barrel that was filled with Breckenridge whiskey to finish it. It was a port barrel. Then it became a whiskey barrel. Now it’s a La Muerta barrel.
Draft-only variants for La Muerta Week 2017* events:
- Coconut
- Coffee
- Cranberry
- Sweet Potato
- Milk Stout
- Mole (Cask)
- Chocolate Orange (*For the Día de los Muertos Dinner on Thursday 11/2, will explain below)
Previous La Muerta versions we will have available on Día de La Muerta:
- 2014 (Bottle Pour)
- 2015 (Bottle Pour)
- 2015 EC12
- 2015 EC12 Vanilla (Bottle Pour)
- 2016
- 2016 Raspberry
- 2016 Tiramisu
THE EVENTS
Wednesday 11/1: Five La Muerta 2017 kegs will go out to accounts for tapping on November 1st for Día de los Inocentes
Thursday 11/2: Día de los Muertos Dinner at our S Presa Brewery
- note: Brewery will be closed for normal business.
- we are partnering with Swine House and Southern Grit for a 5-course meal, limited to 40 people. Full menu is available on the ticket page (see link below)
- this will also be an early opportunity for ticket holder(s) to purchase La Muerta 2017 bottles. Dinner attendee(s) will have the opportunity to buy 2 bottles of regular La Muerta and 1 of each variant.
Friday 11/3: La Muerta Cellar Day at our 1604 Brewpub. We will have 2014, 2015 and 2016 bottles available at the pub (for on-premise consumption only).
Saturday 11/4: Día de La Muerta X. We’re excited to move to a festival format this year, which we hope will enhance the experience for you and also allow us to offer more beers. Here’s how it will work:
- doors will open at 11am
- $25 GA (150 available): Includes your first bottle of La Muerta, an acrylic Día de La Muerta X taster glass, and four 5oz pours of any beers we’re serving that evening.
- $30 VIP (100 available): Doors will open early for VIP at 9am, so ticket holders can partake in the bottle share from 9-10:30am. This year we will be STRICTLY limiting the bottle share to 2 bottles/person (meaning…only bring 2 bottles to the share). Any violators will be given a first warning and asked to return additional bottles to their car. A second violation will result in you being asked to leave without a refund
- we will have multiple stations for beer throughout the brewery (a map will be available)
- all beers will be purchased on a ticket system, like a festival. Ticket purchasing stations (separate from the beer stations) will be set up to buy additional beer tickets.
- we will have a separate merch table to keep the main bar registers free to process bottle purchases exclusively.
- ALL TICKETS WILL ENSURE YOU GET A MINIMUM FULL ALLOTMENT OF 3 BOTTLES OF LA MUERTA (the first is included with your ticket) and 2 BOTTLES OF EACH VARIANT. If we do not sell all tickets, we will increase the allotment size.
- There will be a “BOTTLES ONLY” ticket available. See details in the section below
THE TICKETS
Tickets for the Día de los Muertos Dinner will go on sale Monday 10/16. Tickets will be $80 (+ fees). Gratuity is not included in the ticket price. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DINNER TICKETS WHICH INCLUDES THE MENU.
Tickets for the Día de La Muerta X Festival will go on sale in two waves: one morning sales session + one evening sales session to accommodate various work schedules.
- The first half (exactly half of the tickets) will go on sale on Tuesday 10/17 at 10am. HERE IS THE LINK TO BUY TICKETS.
- The second half (the other half of the tickets, plus anything left over from the morning) will go on sale Tuesday 10/17 at 8pm. HERE IS THE LINK TO BUY TICKETS.
A third “bottles only” ticket will be available for those out of town or who don’t want to come to the festival. A “bottles only” ticket will be $12 (+ fees) and will include your first bottle of regular La Muerta and entitle you to buy 1 more bottle of regular La Muerta and 1 of each variant. You will have to purchase/pickup your bottles by end of day Saturday 11/11. “Bottles only” tickets will go on sale during the waves described above.
THE TEKU
Oh yeah, there will be a Teku. Available as an add-on to your ticket. $15 + fees, per usual. Here it is. Only 100 available.
THE OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE
Q: Can I just buy bottles?
A: Yes, buy a “bottles only” ticket. There are only 100 of these.
Q: What if your ticket mix is all wrong?
A: If we see that Festival tickets sell out super fast and people aren’t buying a lot of “bottles only” tickets, we reserve the right to change the number of tickets and/or offer more tickets. However, the allocations will not go lower than the numbers quoted above.
Q: Why all the changes? I liked the old way!
A: It’s evolution, baby.
Q: Can I buy multiple tickets to get multiple allocations?
A: No. One ticket to Día de La Muerta X per person. If you are buying for someone else, use their name. We will check IDs at the door. This also means you can’t buy a “bottles only” ticket AND a festival ticket…however…
Q: If I go to the Dinner and buy my allocation can I still get a full allocation at the Festival?
A: YES! This is the only way to get multiple allocations.
Q: Can you make it clear exactly what the allotments are?
A: These could possibly be increased, but it goes like this:
- Día de los Muertos Dinner: 2 bottles of La Muerta 2017, 1 bottle of each of the 3 variants. [YOUR TICKET DOES NOT INCLUDE A BOTTLE]
- Día de La Muerta X Festival: 3 bottles of La Muerta 2017, 2 bottles of each of the 3 variants [YOUR TICKET INCLUDES YOUR FIRST BOTTLE OF LA MUERTA 2017]
- Bottle only ticket: 2 bottles of La Muerta 2017, 1 bottle of each of the 3 variants [YOUR TICKET INCLUDES YOUR FIRST BOTTLE OF LA MUERTA 2017]
- Reminder: You can have a dinner ticket and a festival or “bottles only” ticket, but you CANNOT have a festival ticket and a “bottles only” ticket
Q: Can I just buy tickets to the bottle share?
A: No. This is Dia de La Muerta. No one without a VIP ticket will be admitted to the bottle share under ANY circumstance.
Q: I just want to come drink beer, is the brewery still open?
A: Yes! We will be open during our usual hours. However, even if you aren’t participating in the festival, you will still need to buy beer tickets and pay for your beers that way.
Q: Will there be wax?
A: Wax is back this year. Don’t yell at me.
